Albany Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer Lawyers

Tragically, delayed breast cancer diagnosis is one of the most common forms of medical malpractice and causes of cancer misdiagnosis lawsuits. Receiving a timely breast cancer diagnosis is critical to surviving this insidious disease. 

Some of the most common reasons for failed or delayed diagnoses of breast cancer include:

Failure to Order a Timely Mammogram 

Doctors today have advanced tools to properly identify and diagnose breast cancer at an early stage. However, they may sometimes fail to order the proper diagnostic tests that can help identify breast cancer, such as a mammogram. 

Many people go to their primary care doctor, family practitioner, obstetrician, gynecologist, or dermatologist when they spot warning signs of breast cancer. However, these doctors may not be as knowledgeable of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer and may fail to refer them to a radiologist for a mammogram.

Failure to Order a Breast Tissue Biopsy

If a healthcare provider or patient spots an abnormality, a breast tissue biopsy may be able to pinpoint if the patient has breast cancer. During a biopsy, the medical provider removes tissue from the breast with a needle or surgical incision. This tissue is then analyzed for the presence of cancer cells. 

Failure to Interpret a Mammogram or Breast Biopsy Correctly 

Many different medical providers may be involved in diagnosing breast cancer. After the healthcare provider orders a mammogram or breast biopsy, a radiologist, surgeon, or other medical provider may be responsible for conducting the diagnostic tests. Then, a medical provider must read and interpret the mammogram findings or biopsy results.

Diagnostic errors can occur when medical providers do not properly interpret these findings. They can also occur when the prescribing doctor does not specify the area of concern, leading the radiologist to miss the area of the body that needs to be analyzed. 

Inappropriate Differential Diagnosis 

A misdiagnosis can occur when medical providers take the patient’s information and symptoms and diagnose them with a different condition. There are certain risk factors for developing breast cancer, including:

• A family history of the disease
• Being a woman over 50 
• Having a late pregnancy 
• Having an early or delayed onset of menopause
• Exposure to radiation

When healthcare providers do not take detailed family and medical history, they can miss these warning signs. Doctors can also order a simple blood test to determine if a patient has BRCA genes, which make them more susceptible to developing breast cancer.

Failure to Follow Up with Results

A misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose breast cancer can also result when the physician or hospital fails to follow up with the patient to deliver the results. The patient may assume everything is fine if they do not hear back.

What Healthcare Providers Are Responsible for a Failure to Diagnose?

Many healthcare providers may be involved in a cancer diagnosis or failure to diagnose, including the primary care physician, radiologist, surgeon, and hospital. Your cancer malpractice lawyer can evaluate the circumstances surrounding your cancer misdiagnosis to determine which parties contributed to the misdiagnosis and seek to hold them accountable for the harm they caused. 

How Common Is Cancer Misdiagnosis?

Approximately 795,000 people in the United States are permanently disabled after they are misdiagnosed every year. About 11% of medical problems are misdiagnosed each year. Cancer is one of the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions after stroke and heart attack.

While a missed diagnosis is common, overdiagnosis may impact a portion of the population. One study reviewed 54,635 women aged 70 or older who had recently been screened for breast cancer. Researchers concluded that approximately 31% of women ages 70 to 74 were potentially misdiagnosed with having breast cancer when they did not. The number of overdiagnoses grew to 47% when considering women ages 75 to 84. 

When Can I Hold a Healthcare Provider Responsible for Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer?

You can bring a legal claim against a medical provider when they have committed medical malpractice. Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider fails to treat a patient with the same standard of care another medical provider would use under similar circumstances. 

To establish a medical malpractice claim for a cancer misdiagnosis, you must prove:

• You had a doctor/patient relationship with the healthcare provider in question.
• The healthcare provider deviated from the accepted standard of care and how.
• The deviation from the standard of care caused the healthcare provider to miss your diagnosis.
• You were injured as a result of the missed diagnosis.

The medical malpractice lawyers at Powers & Santola, LLP, can help you meet these requirements. 

Surviving Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer for women after skin cancer. Approximately one in eight women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer at some point during their lifetime. The American Cancer Society estimates that 310,720 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women this year and that about 42,250 women will die from breast cancer. 

Survival rates are highest when patients catch the disease early. A localized form of breast cancer has a 99% survival rate. In comparison, regional breast cancer has a 86% survival rate, while distant breast cancer has a 31% survival rate.

Breast cancer can be effectively treated when medical professionals catch it early. However, more invasive treatment may be necessary if it has spread. Treatment options for breast cancer patients include:

• Surgery – Surgeons may be able to surgically remove large tumors in the body and then treat the remaining cancer cells with other forms of treatment. 
• Radiation – Radiation uses high-energy rays to destroy cancer cells. 
• Chemotherapy – Chemotherapy involves intravenous or oral medications to kill fast-growing cancer cells.
• Mastectomy – Some patients may undergo a mastectomy, which is the surgical removal of a breast as well as tissues near the breast to treat breast cancer.
• Systemic drug therapy – This treatment provides medicine that travels to nearly all areas of the body. This may be the primary form of treatment for Stage IV patients who have had the cancer spread to the bones, liver, lungs, brain, or other organs.

Potential Consequences of a Cancer Misdiagnosis

Breast cancer is a difficult condition to treat. The more time medical providers are aware of the condition, the more time they will have to explore different treatment options. 

Your healthcare team should take proper actions to promptly and accurately diagnose your condition. When they fail to do so, your odds of surviving the disease drastically decrease. Even if you do survive breast cancer, a delayed or failed diagnosis can lead to you being subjected to much more invasive procedures than you would have been had the condition been caught early, such as a mastectomy. Radiation and chemotherapy can cause serious complications, including:

If you were harmed because your medical care provider failed to diagnose you with breast cancer, an experienced medical malpractice lawyer from Powers & Santola can help. Call us today for a free case review.

How Can a Medical Malpractice Lawyer Help with My Case?

Medical malpractice lawsuits are very complicated. They involve complex legal and medical concepts. A medical malpractice lawyer can investigate your case, review your medical records, and explain the healthcare provider’s actions that led to the failed diagnosis of breast cancer. They can also work with medical experts to prove the elements of your legal claim so you can focus on your recovery.

What Is the Deadline to File a Medical Malpractice Case?

Medical malpractice actions must generally be brought within two and a half years from the date the patient received inadequate care. However, some patients do not learn of their injury until well after they have received treatment. 

Lavern’s law allows patients to file a lawsuit within two and a half years of learning their healthcare provider negligently failed to diagnose cancer or a malignant tumor or the last treatment date of continuous treatment they received for the condition, subject to an upward limit of seven years from the time they received treatment. 

Medical malpractice claims can be complicated, so it’s best to work with a knowledgeable medical malpractice attorney.

Contact Our Experienced Medical Malpractice Attorneys for a Free Consultation

If a healthcare provider’s negligence resulted in a failed diagnosis of breast cancer, you have the right to seek compensation for your increased medical expenses, lost income, and suffering. The skilled medical malpractice attorneys at Powers & Santola, LLP, can be your legal advocates. Contact us today for a free case review.

Related:

Failure to Diagnose Cervical Cancer 

Failure to Diagnose Uterine Cancer 

Failure to Diagnose Prostate Cancer 

Failure to Diagnose Skin Cancer