Missed and delayed cancer diagnoses unfortunately occur more often than we'd like to admit. Errors can happen at multiple points – from inaccurate test results to misinterpreted scan readings to overlooked symptoms. One study suggests that over 20% of breast cancer diagnoses are delayed, with significant impacts on prognosis.
However, in some cases, these medical errors may entitle patients to financial compensation. This is where cancer lawyers can help, an often unknown resource many patients can turn to. Specializing in medical malpractice law, these attorneys fight to get clients money to cover additional medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages resulting from the delay in diagnosis.
Establishing a Medical Malpractice Claim
Meeting the Burden of Proof
To successfully prove medical malpractice related to a cancer misdiagnosis, patients must establish four key legal elements:
- A duty was owed – doctors have a responsibility to provide an accurate diagnosis
- Negligence occurred – testing or interpretation errors are made
- The errors caused injury – disease progresses due to delays
- Damages resulted – additional treatment costs or lost wages occur
Meeting this burden of proof often requires analyses of medical records and expert testimony to identify negligence. Common errors include inaccurate biopsy readings or missed signs of tumors on scans.
Obtaining Evidence and Records
Cancer misdiagnosis attorneys play a crucial role in gathering key records and evidence from clients' medical histories to build a case. These include:
- Copies of medical charts and doctor's notes
- Diagnostic test results like pathology slides or CT scans
- Details on symptoms and timing of physician visits
Identifying which records demonstrate failures in the duty of care is vital.
Proving Causation
Linking the diagnosing doctor's errors to a worsened prognosis or more invasive treatment is also imperative. By quantifying tumor growth and cancer staging data, expert witnesses can prove how delays directly impacted disease progression.
Types of Compensation in Cancer Cases
Economic and Non-economic Damages
Cancer misdiagnosis lawyers seek compensation for both economic and non-economic losses suffered. Economic damages cover quantifiable costs like:
- Medical bills from delayed treatment
- Lost income from time off work
- Out-of-pocket expenses for medical care
Non-economic damages relate to harder-to-quantify impacts such as pain, suffering, loss of companionship, and reduced quality of life. Guidance from court cases helps value these complex damages.
Awards and Settlement Data
Recent comparable cases provide insight into potential verdicts and settlement amounts. Awards in recent, comparable breast cancer misdiagnosis cases average in the millions. Half of the lawsuits result in wins for the plaintiffs. The median amount awarded to plaintiffs is $1.8 million total when looking at both verdicts and settlements.
For cases decided by a jury verdict alone, the median jumps to $2.6 million. Even plaintiffs that settle out of court still see average sums of $1.7 million paid out. Even settlement sums still averaged close to $2 million based on the data.
Ongoing and Future Costs
Getting coverage for long-term treatment expenses should also be addressed. With certain cancers, years of adjuvant therapy or high recurrence risks necessitate projecting future costs.
Time Sensitivity of Cancer Claims
Pursuing compensation for a missed cancer diagnosis comes with strict deadlines. In New York, patients typically have just 2.5 years from the negligent act per statute of limitations to file a malpractice suit.
However, given cancers often develop slowly over years initially, statute of limitations provisions also account for more flexibility. Known as "tolling periods," these enable the 2.5-year countdown clock to start either:
- On the actual misdiagnosis date
- When the patient could have reasonably discovered the missed cancer themselves.
Whichever occurs later protects patients’ rights. But seeking prompt counsel is still key.
Preserving medical records is another time-sensitive factor. As decades can pass from potential error to a claim being brought, tracking down archived biopsies or scan imagery gets harder. Relying on clear memories of conversations also proves difficult over long periods.
By investigating misdiagnosis claims sooner rather than later, cancer lawyers can request records before storage policies permit their destruction. They also gain a more complete picture of events while patient recollections remain vivid.
Why Cancer Lawyers Improve Outcomes
Pursuing just compensation for a missed or delayed cancer diagnosis is very complex without legal guidance. As outlined already, meeting the burden of proof requires showing:
- A doctor's duty to diagnose accurately
- Failure in this duty that constitutes negligence
- Resulting harm from such negligence
On all three, medical understanding is necessary. Identifying whether testing, analysis, or oversight errors occurred demands working with specialist experts like oncologists. They can analyze factors such as:
- Biopsy sampling or pathology interpretation issues
- Missed signs of disease progression on scans
- Relevant cancer screening and monitoring guidelines
Cancer lawyers have established rosters of medical experts they partner with regularly. These experts know what specifics to look for per cancer type and staging parameters. Relying on their clinical guidance, rather than trying to interpret medical records alone, is key.
Additionally, cancer attorneys stay updated on relevant state laws, new court precedents being set, and changing guidelines. Factor like tolling provisions give those fighting cancer stronger protections. But the nuances must be understood properly.
Get the Compensation You Deserve
If you or your loved ones suffered harm from a delayed or missed cancer diagnosis, the dedicated attorneys at the Porter Law Group are here to help. With extensive expertise in New York medical malpractice law, we prioritize maximizing compensation for clients facing challenges getting accountability for errors.
Our team operates on a contingency-fee basis with no upfront costs to you. We are committed to protecting your rights and ensuring you receive the maximum settlement possible. Over decades, the Porter Law Group has helped countless neglected patients get coverage for vital treatment, lost wages, and more resulting from testing or interpretation mistakes.
To explore your legal options at no cost or obligation, contact us at 833-888-5283 or email info@porterlawgroup.com for a free consultation. Our mission is to take care of the complex legal aspects of your case so you can focus on healing.
