With today’s cancer screening tools, healthcare providers can often catch the disease before it spreads and advances to a later stage of cancer. However, when healthcare professionals don’t avail themselves of these tools or make mistakes with them, this can lead to a dangerous delay in a diagnosis of what can be a deadly disease.
If your cervical cancer diagnosis was delayed due to a cervical cancer screening error, contact the experienced medical malpractice attorneys at Powers & Santola, LLP for a free case review.
What Are Cervical Cancer Screens?
Cervical cancer starts in the cells of the cervix, the narrow end of the uterus. In many cervical cancer cases, pre-cancerous abnormalities form. These abnormalities are treatable and preventable.
Women at the early stages of cervical cancer often have no symptoms. After the disease progresses, symptoms may include vaginal bleeding, swollen legs, problems urinating, and pain in the pelvic region.
Because cervical cancer often has no symptoms in its early stages, screening tests play a critical role in diagnosing the disease early and minimizing the impact it has on patients. As such, the American Cancer Society recommends getting screened regularly.
Pap smears can detect pre-cancerous changes to the cervix, making them one of the best early screening tools. A gynecologist swabs the patient’s cervix during a pelvic exam and sends the swab to a laboratory for testing.
Because the test can detect pre-cancer, it is possible to treat the condition before it progresses into cancer. Early detection of cancer is the best way to beat the disease. The American Cancer Society recommends that women begin screening at age 25. However, if you have risk factors, your doctor may recommend earlier or more frequent screening. Concerns that may indicate a greater need for testing include:
- .HIV infection
- A Pap test that revealed precancerous cells
- A history of cervical cancer
- Prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol
- A weakened immune system
How Medical Mistakes During Cervical Cancer Screening Lead to Advanced Cervical Cancer
Early detection is key to treating cervical cancer. If your primary care physician or OB/GYN does not properly educate you on screening or a healthcare provider fails to conduct proper screening, cervical cancer might not be detected.
False negatives are also possible, where the test may fail to detect abnormal cells or cervical cancer. Doctors should be vigilant about ordering new tests when they detect symptoms or other indications that you could have cervical cancer.
A delayed diagnosis can result in a patient not receiving the medical treatment they need. The cancer can spread to a more advanced form, which is more difficult to treat.
Common Types of Cervical Cancer Screening Errors
Various errors can result in the misdiagnosis of cervical cancer or a delayed diagnosis. The test’s results most commonly cause diagnostic errors. However, other errors can occur as well.
Technicians may not properly collect the cells. A pathologist may misinterpret the test results. Doctors may fail to follow up with test results to determine whether the patient actually had cancer or not. Healthcare providers may fail to provide patients with accurate information about when the next test is due.
Physicians should investigate reports of unusual symptoms that may indicate cervical cancer, such as blood in the urine or stool, unusual discharge, or pelvic pain. If they don’t, what could have been detected as cervical cancer may not be.
Some of the most common reasons for a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of cancer include the following:
- Failing to consider cervical cancer or recommend proper cancer screening
- Errors during specimen collection
- Interpretation errors related to the test results
- Failing to report the test
- Mixing up test results
- Failing to recommend follow-up tests once abnormal Pap smear results occur
Who Is Responsible for Pap Smear Errors?
Various parties may be responsible for a patient’s care and the failure to recognize cervical cancer symptoms, such as:
- Primary care physicians who fail to discuss the need for Pap smears and other routine testing
- Gynecologists or obstetricians who fail to consider a patient’s lifestyle choices when recommending how often to be tested
- Clinicians who make an error while collecting specimens
- Laboratories that report incorrect results
- Pathologists who misinterpret data about the screening
- Physicians who fail to recommend necessary follow-up tests after finding abnormal Pap smear results
If you believe that your medical provider is responsible for your delayed diagnosis of cervical cancer, the medical malpractice attorneys at Powers & Santola, LLP can investigate your situation and determine if you have viable grounds for a medical malpractice case.
The Role of HPV Testing
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. Cervical and penile carcinomas are common due to HPV. Approximately 6.2 million cases of HPV occur in the United States each year. Some viral serotypes have been linked to cervical carcinomas.
The presence of HPV-related carcinomas often indicates cervical cancer. Approximately 70% of cervical cancers are associated with HPV. As such, HPV vaccinations have been developed and recommended as a way to prevent cervical cancer.
The American Cancer Society recommends that women begin screening at age 25 and have an HPV test every five years until they are 65. At age 30, patients can choose to combine HPV tests with Pap tests. If they do this, they would be screened every ten years instead of every five years.
Colposcopy Referrals
If abnormalities – such as cervical cell changes, genital warts, or cervicitis – are detected with Pap testing, an HPV test, or a physical examination, the healthcare provider may refer the patient for a colposcopy. This is a medical procedure in which a doctor uses a microscope to examine the cervix more closely and takes a biopsy for further testing. However, many doctors fail to make recommendations to specialists.
One medical study found that most missed cancer diagnoses could have been caught during routine screenings or if the patient had been referred earlier. 85% of the patents that were part of the study suffered high-severity harm. Failing to refer a patient to a specialist when necessary can constitute medical malpractice.
The Standard of Care for Managing Abnormal Pap Smear Results
Pap smear testing can be an effective tool for detecting cancer and initiating prompt medical treatment, but only if the doctor follows proper protocols. The doctor might order another Pap smear test to confirm the results. Then, they may refer the patient to receive a colposcopy.
Depending on these results, the doctor may order an HPV test or recommend treatment such as a cone biopsy or LEEP procedure.
Dangers of Delays in Cervical Cancer Diagnosis
When a healthcare provider misdiagnoses a serious medical condition like cervical cancer as a less serious one, the patient’s diagnosis is delayed. They do not receive the medical treatment they really need. This allows the cancer to spread, morphing from a relatively easy form of cancer to treat to an invasive cancer that requires more extensive medical treatment.
The survival rates for cervical cancer largely depend on how much the cancer has been allowed to progress. When caught early and localized, the five-year survival rate for cervical cancer is 91%. It drops down to 62% when it is regional and to 19% when it is distant.
Even when cervical cancer is not fatal, it may be necessary to remove the cervix and surrounding organs to protect the patient.
Cervical Cancer Treatment Options
If you have cervical cancer, you may receive various types of medical treatments, such as:
- Immunotherapy
- Radiation therapy
- Targeted drug therapy
- Surgery
- Chemotherapy
Sometimes, these treatments are used together. More invasive treatments may be necessary if the disease spreads.
Legal Remedies Available for Victims
The primary legal remedy available for patients who have received a delayed cancer diagnosis is to file a medical malpractice claim against the healthcare professional responsible for the delay. A successful claim must show the following:
You Had a Doctor/Patient Relationship with the Defendant
You must show that the medical provider in question was your treating provider or employed by them.
Your Medical Provider Deviated from the Standard of Care
The standard of care is the level of treatment that another healthcare provider in the same specialty area would have used under similar circumstances. Typically, medical experts testify about the standard of care that is expected in a particular medical field.
Your Doctor’s Deviation from the Standard of Care Caused an Untimely Diagnosis
Next, you must show that because your doctor deviated from the standard of care, your cancer diagnosis was delayed. Had the doctor adhered to the appropriate medical standard of care, you would have received an accurate diagnosis sooner. Medical expert testimony also helps establish this legal element.
You Suffered Damages as a Result
Finally, you must show that you suffered harm as a direct result of the healthcare provider’s actions. Damages may be economic, in which they are quantifiable, or non-economic, in which case they are not. Economic damages may include losses such as:
- Payment of additional medical bills you’ve incurred
- Ongoing medical treatment costs due to the delayed diagnosis
- Rehabilitation and therapies
- Future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Reduction in long-term earning capacity
- Home care, transportation, meals, and other incidental expenses
Non-economic damages might include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Decreased quality of life
An experienced lawyer can help gather the evidence necessary to prove your claim.
Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice Cases in New York
The typical deadline to file a medical malpractice lawsuit in New York is 30 months from the date the negligent act occurred. However, Lavern’s Law applies to cases involving delayed cancer diagnoses. In these cases, the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the patient discovers the diagnostic error.
Contact the Legal Team at Powers & Santola for Assistance
If you received false negative results or a delayed cancer diagnosis due to your healthcare provider’s mistake, the award-winning personal injury lawyers at Powers & Santola, LLP want to help. You should receive the benefit of effective medical screening tests, and negligent healthcare providers should pay if they make costly diagnostic mistakes.
Our lawyers can investigate your case, review your medical records, determine the cause of the mistake, and seek to hold the careless medical professional accountable for your harm. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your case with a compassionate and caring medical malpractice lawyer from our firm.
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