Lung cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, expected to lead to nearly 230,000 new cases and 125,000 deaths in the United States in 2026, according to the American Cancer Society. Early detection can help save patients, but a diagnosis can be delayed when it is initially diagnosed for another condition, like COPD or pneumonia. If your medical provider misdiagnosed your lung cancer, you may have the right to file a medical malpractice claim against them to seek compensation for the damages you’ve sustained.
What Is a Misdiagnosis?
A misdiagnosis occurs when a healthcare provider misidentifies cancer as another medical condition. For example, you might have lung cancer, but a medical professional might diagnose you as having COPD or pneumonia.
A misdiagnosis can be harmful in two ways. First, you do not receive the medical treatment that you need. For example, you don’t receive chemotherapy or radiation to prevent the cancer from spreading. Additionally, you could be receiving medical treatment that you do not need, which could be ineffective or even harmful.
A misdiagnosis is distinct from a failed or delayed diagnosis, which occurs when a doctor fails to diagnose a patient correctly or does not reach the diagnosis promptly as should have occurred if the healthcare provider exercised appropriate due diligence under the circumstances. A misdiagnosis is a wrong clinical conclusion. In a misdiagnosis case, a healthcare professional evaluated a patient’s symptoms and assigned an entirely incorrect diagnosis.
In some cases, a patient who has been misdiagnosed can take legal action to seek compensation for the harm they’ve suffered.
Why Do Misdiagnoses Happen?
Misdiagnoses can occur for many reasons at any point in the diagnostic journey. One of the most common reasons for a misdiagnosis is missed or overlooked symptoms, such as:
- A persistent cough that worsens over time
- Coughing up blood
- Chest pain during breathing or coughing
- Wheezing
- Bone pain
- Persistent headaches
- Unexplained weight loss
- Shortness of breath, including during normal daily activities
Symptoms can vary from patient to patient, so doctors should keep this in mind and not rule out a diagnosis just because symptoms are slightly different.
Another common reason for a misdiagnosis is overlooking a patient’s history, including risk factors, family history, and environmental factors. For example, pertinent information for a lung cancer diagnosis includes a family history of cancer, smoking history, or asbestos exposure. Some healthcare professionals dismiss these warning signs or attribute them to less serious conditions, which can lead to a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis.
With lung cancer in particular, symptoms are not always apparent. There is no routine screening for at-risk patients. Doctors might only perform tests when a patient has certain symptoms. Failing to order necessary tests can also cause a misdiagnosis. Tests that can help identify lung cancer include the following:
- X-rays
- MRIs
- PET scans
- Biopsies
- Sputum analysis
- Bronchoscopy
Other factors that commonly lead to lung cancer misdiagnosis include the following:
- Misreading X-rays or CT scans that may identify early-stage cancer cells
- Dismissing symptoms in people with less likelihood of getting lung cancer, such as non-smokers or younger patients
- Overlooking small cell lung cancer signs
- Failing to properly perform tests, preventing the real results from showing
- Letting tissue samples become contaminated
- Failing to recognize squamous cell carcinoma indicators in imaging results
- Delays in referring the patient to a specialist
- Communication breakdowns between primary care physicians and specialists
Misdiagnoses sometimes involve systemic failures in healthcare. Administrative issues can sometimes result from mixing up patient files or test results, a lack of protocol for communicating test results, or failing to schedule follow-up visits after receiving an abnormal test result.
Why is lung cancer sometimes misdiagnosed as COPD or Pneumonia?
COPD, pneumonia, and other pulmonary conditions often share symptoms with lung cancer. Since these conditions are more common than lung cancer, a healthcare provider may assume the patient has one of these medical conditions instead of lung cancer.
While symptoms are similar, each condition has its own unique symptoms that may help indicate the actual condition. For example, common symptoms of COPD include:
- Shortness of breath
- Wheezing
- Continuous coughing
- The presence of mucus in spit-up
- Low energy
Doctors may sometimes misdiagnose a patient with pneumonia when an X-ray shows lung opacity. Symptoms distinct to pneumonia include:
- Chest pain when breathing or coughing
- Cough, which sometimes produces phlegm
- Fatigue
- Fever, sweating, and shaking cells
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Shortness of breath
- Higher than normal body temperature and changes in mental awareness in patients older than age 65
Millions of cases of pneumonia arise every year in the United States, and this common occurrence likely contributes to the misdiagnosis of patients with this condition. Other medical conditions that are sometimes diagnosed instead of cancer include:
- Bronchitis
- The flu
- Sinus infection
- Measles
- Legionnaires disease
- Acute respiratory distress
- Asthma
- Tuberculosis
- Chronic bronchial infections
- General anxiety disorder
When these less serious conditions are diagnosed instead of the lung cancer that the patient actually has, the patient can experience critical delays in treatment.
Dangers of Misdiagnosis
Unfortunately, lung cancer is one of the most frequently misdiagnosed forms of cancer. When a diagnosis is missed, delayed, or made in error, patients often lose critical time where they could have received effective treatment and prevented the cancer from spreading. A delayed lung cancer diagnosis can adversely affect patient outcomes and treatment options.
Without a proper diagnosis, the cancer can spread to other organs and body parts, making it more difficult and expensive to treat. Irreparable harm can occur. Mortality rates significantly increase after cancer metastasizes.
Even when the condition isn’t fatal, treatment may be longer, more intensive, and more expensive. Doctors’ mistakes can result in increased medical costs, disability, loss of quality of life, and greater pain and suffering.
Legal Options for Misdiagnosed Cancer
When a misdiagnosis allows the cancer to spread or when the wrong diagnosis delays treatment by months or years, you have the right to seek accountability for the harm you and your family have suffered. You may be able to file a lung cancer misdiagnosis claim.
This process typically begins by notifying the responsible healthcare provider’s medical malpractice insurance company. Medical malpractice cases are notoriously complex, so having the legal team at Powers & Santola, LLP, with its extensive experience, resources, and expertise, can be extremely helpful.
Making a legal claim of this nature requires careful preparation, thorough documentation, and expert testimony.
Financial Compensation for a Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis
A lung cancer misdiagnosis can cause considerable harm. Affected patients have the right to seek compensation for their mounting medical expenses, lost income, and the emotional toll that their healthcare provider’s carelessness caused them. As part of a medical malpractice claim, you can seek compensation for the full extent of the various damages that you have suffered, such as:
- Medical bills for additional medical costs you incurred due to the misdiagnosis
- Ongoing treatment costs to treat advanced lung cancer
- Future medical expenses
- Home care
- Medication
- Medical equipment
- Lost wages and diminished earning capacity
- Travel expenses for treatment
- Physical pain and suffering from receiving the wrong treatment
- The negative impact on the quality of life
Who Is Responsible for a Misdiagnosis?
The party you file a medical malpractice claim against will depend on whose actions or omissions contributed to your misdiagnosis. In medical malpractice cases, you must be able to show that the defendant had a doctor/patient relationship with you, they deviated from the accepted standard of care that another medical provider would have demonstrated under similar circumstances, and this deviation from the standard of care caused you to suffer damages.
There are various points across the diagnostic journey that can lead to a misdiagnosis. Various medical providers can contribute to cancer misdiagnoses, including:
- Primary care physicians who dismiss symptoms, fail to refer the patient to a specialist, or fail to order appropriate tests, such as low-dose tomography
- Emergency room departments that dismissed early warning signs of the cancer
- Radiologists who misread or misinterpret chest X-rays, CT scan results, or positron emission tomography findings
- Pathology labs that provided wrong test results
- Oncologists who missed signs of cancer cells or unnecessarily delayed treatment
- Pulmonologists who failed to investigate persistent symptoms
- Medical facilities that commit organizational lapses contributing to misdiagnosis, have poor communication systems, have inadequate follow-up procedures, or otherwise lead to systematic diagnostic failures.
What If More Than One Medical Provider Was Negligent?
In some situations, more than one healthcare provider or medical facility may have contributed to the misdiagnosis. When this situation arises, New York law allows you to hold each medical provider jointly and severally liable. Therefore, each medical provider can be held independently liable. Our experienced medical malpractice attorneys can carefully analyze your case and determine who is responsible for the harm you suffered.
Contact Us Today for a Free Consultation
If your lung cancer was initially misdiagnosed, Powers & Santola, LLP can help. Let us put our considerable experience and resources to use to demand the financial compensation and accountability that you deserve. Contact us today for a free case review.
