JohnSmithMillions of people die from various types of cancers every single year in the United States alone. And the number only increases worldwide. If this vicious disease is caught early, the chances of survival may be much higher.
But what happens when medical professionals fail to diagnose it early, or worse, misdiagnose it altogether?
Hiring a cancer misdiagnosis law firm is the best course of action in such a scenario.
It consists of professional attorneys with experience in cases such as medical malpractice or negligence. They can study your case, file a wrongful diagnosis suit, and demand rightful compensation for you.
Here are details of how such law firms can help victims of cancer misdiagnosis.
- Determine the reason for the misdiagnosis
Among the first things your attorney will do is determine the reason behind the misdiagnosis. There could be several possibilities. For instance, it can happen when doctors fail to give their patients sufficient time and attention. It can also be the outcome of a faulty examination of the symptoms. In some cases, insurance possibilities may also influence a doctor’s decision to give referrals or order tests.
Another form of malpractice is when doctors begin treatment immediately after a patient has been diagnosed with cancer without studying its type or cause. This leads to patients receiving unnecessary treatment for the symptoms while the real problem worsens.
- Damages you can avail
Anybody (including family members of the patient) who has suffered due to cancer misdiagnosis is qualified for compensation on the grounds of medical malpractice. This includes payment for lost wages, past, current, and future medical bills, and any possible future income losses they may incur.
This is not all. A cancer misdiagnosis law firm can help victims seek compensation to cover emotional trauma, pain, mental stress, and loss of specific time they could have spent in happiness and enjoying various aspects of life.
- Proving misdiagnosis
Whenever a medical negligence lawsuit is filed, the onus is on the plaintiff to prove the charges. The same is the case with a cancer misdiagnosis suit.
Typically, a cancer misdiagnosis lawyer will prove the following in court:
- Establish the fact that there was a genuine doctor-patient relationship.
- Prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the doctor acted negligently, causing his client’s cancer misdiagnosis.
- Give proof of the doctor misreading symptoms and not ordering necessary referrals and tests.
- Establish that the doctor did not follow protocols, which led to errors in the test results.
- Communicate to the judge how the doctor disregarded or overlooked laboratory suggestions to conduct further tests such as a tissue sample biopsy.
- Show how the misdiagnosis on the doctor’s part caused the patient to suffer unimaginable pain and loss.
- Establish the extent of damages that the misdiagnosis led to, such as loss of wages, sky-high medical bills, terrible pain, trauma, etc.
Types of cancers commonly misdiagnosed
Now that you know why you should hire a lawyer in such cases, it will also help to be aware of the type of cancers commonly misdiagnosed. For instance, studies on breast cancer misdiagnosis litigation for the last decade are underway.
But other cancer types are misdiagnosed too. They include melanomas, lung cancer, central nervous system/brain cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, lymphoma, colon cancer, and pancreatic cancer. You should contact a law firm even if cancer misdiagnosed does not fall within this list.
