Syracuse Lung Cancer Failure to Diagnose Lawyer

If you have just received devastating news that you have lung cancer and your diagnosis was delayed, or you were incorrectly diagnosed with lung cancer and subjected to unnecessary treatments, you may be overwhelmed. You need to focus on your health and recovery. At the same time, New York law limits how much time you have to file a legal claim to recover compensation for the injuries you’ve sustained.

An experienced medical malpractice lawyer from Powers & Santola, LLP can handle your legal claim while you focus on your recovery. You can trust our medical malpractice and personal injury law firm to capably handle your case because of our:

• Experience: The Upstate New York personal injury and medical malpractice attorneys at Powers & Santola, LLP have fought to uphold the rights of our clients for more than 30 years. 

• Results: With hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation won through verdicts and settlements, our unparalleled results speak for themselves. 

• Knowledge: Medical malpractice cases require specialized knowledge. Our trial lawyers provide an extra layer of support to your case by working with medical specialists who can explain how the medical provider deviated from the standard of care and how that contributed to the failure to diagnose cancer accurately. 

• Position in the Legal Community: Our lawyers have been recognized by U.S. News and World Report and Best Lawyers in America as one of the best medical malpractice and personal injury law firms in the nation. Additionally, our attorneys have been recognized as Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year and Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year, rare distinctions that we take pride in.

• Caring Approach: Our client testimonials explain our clients’ first-hand experiences with our Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys, often noting how we showed we cared, were compassionate, and provided legal help when our clients needed it most.

Contact us today to get started with a free, no-obligation consultation with an experienced Syracuse medical malpractice attorney who can discuss your legal rights in a confidential setting. We work on a contingency basis, so you won’t owe us any attorney fees unless we successfully recover compensation on your behalf.

How Is Lung Cancer Diagnosed?

According to the American Cancer Society, many symptoms of lung cancer do not appear until the cancer has spread. However, some patients may exhibit symptoms such as:

• Persistent coughing that doesn’t subside
• Coughing up blood, spit, or phlegm
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Wheezing
• Chest pain that worsens with deep breathing or coughing 
• Weight loss and loss of appetite
• Respiratory infections that recur or don’t go away

The earlier a medical provider can recognize these symptoms as possible indicators of cancerous cells, the greater your chance of an early diagnosis. 

Medical professionals should also complete a thorough assessment of a patient’s medical history, risk factors, and family history of cancer. Risk factors for lung cancer include a history of smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke, or exposure to certain other chemicals or substances, such as asbestos, chromium, or radon. 

Doctors may be able to accurately diagnose your medical condition with the use of various medical tests and techniques, such as:

• Imaging tests, such as chest x-rays, computed tomography (CT) scans, MRI scans, and Positron emission tomography (PET) scans
• Needle biopsy to extract cells and test for cancer tumors
• Fine needle aspiration biopsy
• Bone scan
• Sputum cytology, a sampling of phlegm
• Bronchoscopy can help identify tumor markers
• Endobronchial ultrasound or endoscopic esophageal ultrasound to view the lymph nodes
• Mediastinoscopy to view samples more closely 
• Thoracoscopy to determine if cancer has spread to the spaces between the lungs
• Lung or pulmonary function tests (PFTs) are used to determine the functional ability of the lungs
• Molecular testing of a lung tumor 
• PD-L1 testing on tumor cells 

If your doctor failed to consider using these various diagnostic tests at their disposal and your cancer went undetected, you may have grounds to file a medical malpractice case. You can get help from our failure to diagnose lung cancer lawyers when you call today for your free case review. 

Why Would Lung Cancer Be Misdiagnosed?

Misdiagnosis can occur for many reasons and be committed by various types of healthcare providers. Doctors today may spend less time with patients, which can lead to a lack of information or a failure to take the necessary steps to reach an accurate diagnosis. 

Lung cancer can be misdiagnosed for various reasons, including the following:

Missing Symptoms

A doctor may dismiss a patient’s concerns, disregard symptoms, or fail to make a connection between symptoms and lung cancer, leading to a delayed cancer diagnosis.

Failing to Order Tests

Blood tests, physical examinations, and other diagnostic tests can help identify cancer. However, when a healthcare professional fails to order necessary tests, a patient’s medical condition might not be properly diagnosed. 

Misinterpreting Tests

A healthcare provider might misinterpret imaging studies or test results. They might fail to notice any abnormalities on a chest X-ray, leading to a possible misdiagnosis. 

Failing to Follow Up

Doctors may order tests but fail to report any abnormalities to patients, so those patients don’t know that they need follow-up treatment. 

Failing to Account for a Patient’s Medical History 

A doctor may take an inadequate personal or family medical history, leading to a misdiagnosis of a less severe condition.

Who Is Responsible for a Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis?

Often, a patient’s doctor or pathologist is responsible for cases of lung cancer misdiagnosis. However, if a hospital or medical group employs the healthcare provider, those entities may be responsible for the negligent actions of their employees due to the legal doctrine of respondeat superior. An experienced medical malpractice attorney from our Syracuse, NY law firm can provide legal guidance and help determine who is responsible for your delayed diagnosis. 

How to Prove a Medical Malpractice Case

Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider’s medical treatment falls below the standard of care and injures the patient. This type of legal claim consists of four elements:

• The defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff.
• The defendant breached the duty of care.
• The patient suffered injuries.
• The defendant’s breach of the duty of care was the cause of the injury.

Here is more information about each of these legal elements:

Duty of Care

The duty of care is a healthcare provider’s legal responsibility to treat a patient with the appropriate level of care. There must be a doctor/patient relationship between the defendant and plaintiff. The duty of care is based on medical standards. The judge or jury may ask, “What would another medical provider with a similar background have done under similar circumstances?”

Breach of Duty of Care

In a typical personal injury case, a breach of duty of care is based on a “reasonable person” standard. However, in medical malpractice cases, the duty is based on what a reasonable medical provider with similar training and education would have done under similar circumstances.

If another provider would have ordered the correct tests, noticed symptoms sooner, or reached an accurate diagnosis in a timely manner and your medical provider did not, you may be able to show they breached the medical standard of care.

Medical experts typically testify about what another healthcare professional in the same specialty area would have done and how a defendant doctor deviated from the applicable standard of care.

Causation

It’s not enough to show that your doctor made a diagnostic mistake. You must be able to show how their deviation from the standard of care caused the lung cancer misdiagnosis.

Damages

Finally, you must be able to show that you suffered damages as a result of the misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of lung cancer, such as incurring additional medical expenses or

Proving the above legal elements can be difficult, but an experienced attorney from Powers & Santola, LLP can review your situation and devise a tailored litigation strategy based on the circumstances surrounding your unique case.

What Financial Compensation Can I Recover from a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?

New York medical malpractice and personal injury victims have a right to pursue compensation for the damages they incurred. This includes economic damages that can be reduced to a monetary amount, such as:

• Additional medical expenses
• Costs for ongoing medical treatment
• Future medical expenses
• Lost wages while seeking medical treatment
• Lost earning capacity if the illness renders you unable to work

It also includes non-economic damages, which are more subjective and less quantifiable in nature, such as:

• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish
• Emotional distress
• Loss of consortium
• Loss of quality of life

Our experienced medical malpractice attorneys can identify the damages to include in your medical malpractice claim and fight tirelessly to recover them.

What Is the Filing Deadline for a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in New York?

Most medical malpractice lawsuits in New York must be filed within two and a half years of the medical mistake occurring to comply with New York’s statute of limitations. However, special rules apply for cases involving delayed cancer diagnoses, known as Lavern’s Law. In these situations, you have two and a half years from the date you discovered the misdiagnosis. But, in any event, you must file your case within seven years of the negligent act.

These rules can be confusing. An experienced cancer misdiagnosis lawyer from our firm can review your situation and explain the applicable deadline, allowing you to take prompt legal action in your case.