A Philadelphia, PA Delayed Cancer Diagnosis Lawyer You Can Trust for Legal Advocacy
Up until the last few decades or so, a cancer diagnosis was almost unequivocally met with death. Today, innovative procedures and therapies are giving cancer patients the chance to recover and live fulfilling lives. Others are not as fortunate.
Each year thousands of cancer diagnoses are delayed. Patients with rapidly metastasizing tumors are left without treatment options that might have been what they needed to extend their life. In short, a delayed cancer diagnosis could result in lost months or years that could have been prevented, but happened because of the negligent actions of medical professionals.
All types of cancer patients can be affected by a delayed diagnosis. The consequences can be devastating and result in the inability to receive certain types of treatment, the requirement to undergo more severe forms of treatment, excessive pain, or death.
Was Cancer Misdiagnosis Medical Malpractice?
Delayed diagnosis is more common than one might realize. It is very difficult to find a cancer patient who didn’t visit their doctor with the same symptoms two, three, or four times being referred to an oncologist or other specialist. That said, diagnosing cancer is not easy – even the most knowledgeable doctors could fail to notice a tumor before it spreads. So, when is a delayed cancer diagnosis malpractice?
As a Philadelphia, PA delayed cancer diagnosis lawyer might explain to you, the general rule of thumb is to ask to primary questions, which are:
A Doctor’s Standard of Care
A general practitioner cannot be expected to understand all the particulars of cancer. This is where an oncologist may be needed. Identifying common symptoms, ordering tests, and referring patients to a specialist are some important steps that a general practitioner can, and should, do. This is their standard of care. When these standards are not upheld, and harm results, a delayed cancer diagnosis lawyer in Philadelphia, PA may hold the physician liable for malpractice.
Affecting a Patients’ Likelihood of Survival
Violating the standards of care is not enough. In order to seek compensation, a lawyer must be able to demonstrate that the delay in diagnosis caused some kind of harm that otherwise would not have happened. For instance, many cancers can be treated when diagnosed early on. If they are left to spread, the rates of survival decrease.
At Wieand Law Firm, LLC, we review potential cancer misdiagnosis cases by asking:
For example, a patient is diagnosed with stomach cancer, but by the time it is caught, it has metastasized to their liver and kidneys. It’s now a Stage IV cancer that has a survival rate of just 20%. In the previous year, routine tests revealed evidence suggesting a tumor on the stomach, without signs of spreading. It was likely to be just Stage I cancer that had a high rate of survival. As you can understand the survival rate in this example went from practically 100% to just 20% because the cancer was not diagnosed in time. It must be noted that with all delayed diagnoses, it will depend on the type of cancer. Some grow very slowly; whereas, others are rapid. This means even a delay of several years might have no demonstrable effect on the survival rate. This is when it is very important to have a qualified delayed cancer diagnosis lawyer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania review your case.
If you would like to have your case reviewed to see whether or not you have the right to pursue compensation for a delayed diagnosis, please call Wieand Law Firm, LLC. A delayed cancer diagnosis lawyer Philadelphia, PA trusts would be happy to address your questions and concerns.
