Damages Claims for Delayed Cancer Diagnosis in Ohio
The sooner a patient's cancer is accurately diagnosed, the sooner effective therapy can begin. If a diagnosis is delayed too long for whatever reason, the risk of metastasis increases and the prospect for successful treatment can diminish to no chance at all.
Delays in diagnosing cancer don't necessarily indicate medical malpractice, but it might be worthwhile to see whether symptoms should have been spotted or tests should have been ordered. Contact Greene & Eisen in Cleveland for the advice of trial attorneys who know how to investigate and evaluate the performance of physicians in cases of cancer misdiagnosis.
Call 216-687-0900 for Advice About Your Potential Medical Malpractice Claim
There are two important questions for legal inquiry — first, did the misdiagnosis (or late diagnosis) reflect a departure from a recognized standard of care on the part of the physician? Next, did that departure play a causal role in the patient's injury or death?
Our law firm won a $3.15 million verdict on behalf of the family of a woman who died due to a delayed lung cancer. Despite the fact that our client complained of a cough to her physician, and was a smoker, her doctor never ordered a chest x-ray. Our client's cancer was not discovered until she had Stage IV cancer.
Our expert investigation will carefully examine the opportunities that a treating or consulting doctor had to spot the first signs of a malignancy. These might include:
- An OB/GYN's performance in a case of breast cancer, cervical cancer or uterine cancer
- A urologist's performance in a case of prostate cancer
- A primary care physician's failure to order tests for lung cancer
- The failure of a radiologist or pathologist to spot the signs of cancer after tests were properly ordered
- A surgeon's failure to recognize a tumor during surgery
While most medical malpractice cases involving cancer concern a physician's failure to make an accurate diagnosis in time for effective treatment, we sometimes see a misdiagnosis case that goes the other way, as when a false diagnosis of cancer results in an unnecessary amputation or mastectomy.
In Ohio, your medical malpractice lawsuit must be supported by an "expert affidavit of merit," a qualified medical professional's sworn statement that a departure from a standard of care resulted in death or injury to the patient. Our attorneys work closely with experts from many medical specialties to investigate what happened in a cancer misdiagnosis case.
If the medical evidence indicates that medical malpractice resulted in misdiagnosis of your cancer symptoms in time for effective treatment, our experience with the development and presentation of damages evidence can protect the value of your claims. For more information about your legal rights, discuss your situation with an experienced lawyer at Greene & Eisen in Cleveland.
