Can I Sue If My Doctor Did Not Diagnose My Cancer Correctly?

 Posted on August 28, 2024 in Medical Malpractice

When you are not feeling well, you trust your physician to diagnose your condition correctly and prescribe the proper medications or treatments. For serious conditions like cancer, early detection and proper treatment can determine whether a patient goes into remission or faces life-threatening consequences.

What happens if your doctor does not detect your cancer or fails to diagnose it promptly? What if he attributes your symptoms to another cause and does not treat the cancer? Do you have a medical malpractice claim? Call Carlson Law Group, P.C. to speak with our experienced lawyer to see if you qualify for compensation for misdiagnosis.

What Is Medical Misdiagnosis?

There are several ways that a doctor can misdiagnose patients, and each can have devastating consequences.

Delayed Diagnosis

With conditions like most cancers, the sooner appropriate treatment begins, the better the likely prognosis. With a delayed diagnosis, the physician does diagnose cancer, but not quickly enough. A delayed diagnosis means that a patient does not receive proper treatment promptly, potentially allowing the cancer to spread. Widespread cancers may be resistant to treatments, which may decrease chances of survival.

Failure to Diagnose

In this scenario, the doctor never diagnoses cancer. That means a patient never receives cancer treatments, which can be deadly.

Incorrect Diagnosis

Sometimes, doctors decide that a different condition is causing symptoms. The physician will likely prescribe medications and treatments that are appropriate for a condition a patient does not have. The patient may experience various harmful effects from these treatments, but is still not getting any treatment for cancer.

Is Every Misdiagnosis Grounds for a Medical Malpractice Claim?

Physicians are required to provide a high standard of care for their patients. If a misdiagnosis results from a doctor failing to meet that standard of care, a patient may qualify for compensation through a medical malpractice claim. Not every misdiagnosis makes someone eligible. These claims are based on negligence, which means failing to behave as another reasonable physician would in the same situation.

Examples of negligence in a cancer misdiagnosis include:

• Failing to order appropriate diagnostic tests

• Misreading test results

• Disregarding or failing to investigate some patient symptoms

• Failing to obtain or review patient medical history

• Lack of thorough communication

An attorney from Carlson Law Group, P.C. will investigate a misdiagnosis and how it affected you. We will consider several factors, such as:

• Would most doctors have made the correct diagnosis promptly?

• Why did your physician make the error?

• What harm did you suffer because of the misdiagnosis?

• Did the misdiagnosis cause your condition to worsen?

• Are you facing a worse prognosis because of the misdiagnosis?

• Did your misdiagnosis create extra medical expenses, more time lost from work, and additional pain and suffering?

The answers to these and other case-specific questions will tell us whether you can pursue a medical malpractice claim. If a loved one loses her life due to misdiagnosis, you might be able to file a wrongful death action.

Request Your Free Consultation With Our Skilled Joliet, IL Medical Misdiagnosis Lawyer

Medical malpractice can alter your life, especially in cases involving a cancer misdiagnosis. The compassionate legal team from Carlson Law Group, P.C. will fight to help you get the compensation you deserve. Call us at 815-710-3700 today to speak with our diligent Will County, IL personal injury attorney. As a former prosecutor and judge, Attorney Carlson has a long history of ensuring that at-fault parties are held accountable.