Each year cancer diagnosis delays or cancer misdiagnosis, leads to enormous suffering and wrongful deaths for thousands of Americans and their families. Cancer is the uncontrollable growth of abnormal cells and can occur anywhere in the body. These cells can either be cured or they will lead to the eventual death of the patient. While normal cells multiply when the body has a need for them and then die when the body no longer has a need for them, cancer happens when the growth of cells in the body is uncontrollable and the cells begin to divide too quickly. Cancer cells also do not die when the body requires them to die.
Early detection for many forms of cancer is critical to improving a patient's survival rate. With the improvements in cancer treatment over the past couple decades, those with certain types of cancers have a dramatically improved chance of recovery if the cancers are detected and treated early. The types of cancers that have a good chance of being treated, if treated early in the stages, include colon cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, and non-small cell cancers. However, some cancers have a poor chance of recovery no matter what stage the cancer is detected. These types of cancers include small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and ovarian cancer.
Proper cancer diagnosis and early detection are critical to helping the patient live a longer and healthier life. If a doctor fails to diagnose cancer in its early stages, confuses the cancer for another medical condition, or even fails to diagnose the cancer at all, can lead to the spreading of the cancer to other parts of the body and the eventual death of the patient.
If a cancer misdiagnosis by a doctor for a treatable cancer leads to serious injuries to the patient or death, a medical negligence or medical malpractice lawsuit may be initiated. One critical element in a medical malpractice lawsuit involving cancer is proving that the doctor should have diagnosed the cancer at the early stage and provided proper treatment, preventing the cancer from causing severe damage to the patient. If the cancer was a type where early treatment would not have made a significant difference, then a medical negligence or medical malpractice lawsuit would likely not be feasible.
Dr. Bruce Fagel has extensive experience dealing with cancer misdiagnosis and delay in diagnosis cases. In addition to being a top medical malpractice lawyer, Dr. Fagel is also a licensed physician, and has over 10 years emergency room experience. This extensive combination of experience allows Dr. Fagel to probe medical records and understand if there is a case for medical malpractice.
