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New York Delayed Cancer Diagnosis Attorney Representing Clients In Troy
When you make an appointment at your physician’s office for a routine or annual exam, or when you seek a medical assessment based on specific symptoms you are experiencing, you should be able to trust that your healthcare provider will make an accurate cancer diagnosis. At Powers & Santola, LLP, we know how terrifying it can be to receive a cancer diagnosis, but we also know how essential it is to catch cancers in early stages so that you can make a full recovery. When a doctor fails to properly identify cancer in an early stage and a patient goes months or even years before receiving an accurate diagnosis, that patient ultimately may learn that she or he has a terminal disease that cannot be cured.
When patients suffer from delayed cancer diagnosis, it is critical to seek advice from a Troy delayed cancer diagnosis lawyer about filing a claim. A delayed cancer diagnosis is often the result of medical negligence and you may be able to hold your healthcare provider accountable by filing a medical malpractice lawsuit.
What Is A Delayed Cancer Diagnosis In Troy, NY?
Diagnostic errors are common types of medical mistakes that lead to medical malpractice claims in upstate New York. There are multiple kinds of diagnostic errors that can result in a delayed cancer diagnosis, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
For example, if a healthcare provider misdiagnoses a patient’s symptoms and diagnoses the patient as having something other than cancer, that patient might not seek the opinion of another healthcare provider until cancer has spread. Or, for instance, if a patient visits a doctor for an annual screening exam and the doctor fails to identify signs of cancer, the patient might not return to a healthcare provider until she is experiencing symptoms. At that point, cancer may have spread.
Delayed Cancer Diagnosis In Troy and Medical Malpractice
Diagnostic errors are a form of medical malpractice. In general, if you want to file a medical malpractice claim after a delayed cancer diagnosis, you will need to prove the elements necessary to win a medical malpractice lawsuit. Generally speaking, a patient who suffered a delayed cancer diagnosis will need to show the following:
- Duty of care;
- Breach of the duty of care (i.e., doctor was negligent);
- Breach caused the patient’s injury; and
- Patient suffered damages.
In cases arising from the delayed diagnosis, that is usually done by showing that if the patient’s cancer had been timely diagnosed at an earlier stage the 5-year survival rate of the patient would have been better. For example, the average 5-year survival rate for women with non-metastatic invasive breast cancer is 91%. The average 10-year survival rate for women with invasive breast cancer is 84%. If cancer has spread to a distant part of the body, the 5-year survival rate is 27%.
Read our Delayed Diagnosis Blogs
Can You Sue for a Delayed Prostate Cancer Diagnosis?
Posted: February 16, 2024
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers for men. According to the American Cancer Society, about 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and 1 in 44 will die from it. However, the disease is different for each person. With less aggressive cancers, a man and his doctor might only …
Continue reading “Can You Sue for a Delayed Prostate Cancer Diagnosis?”
Early Signs of Breast Cancer which Are Easy to Miss
Posted: January 30, 2024
Each year, around 260,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. Their outlook varies. Some breast cancer is more aggressive than others, but any patient would benefit from early detection. When breast cancer is diagnosed early, patients have more treatment options. They also have a statistically better chance of surviving the disease. The most prominent breast …
Continue reading “Early Signs of Breast Cancer which Are Easy to Miss”
VA Ordered to Pay $975,000 for Delayed Cancer Diagnosis of Deceased New York Man
Posted: September 22, 2023
A delayed cancer diagnosis is often a death sentence for patients who do not learn the truth about their condition until it is too late. But even in cases where a health care provider admits a delay violated the accepted standard of care for the medical profession, that is not the end of the matter. …
Continue reading “VA Ordered to Pay $975,000 for Delayed Cancer Diagnosis of Deceased New York Man”
How Much Time Do I Have To File A Delayed Cancer Diagnosis Claim?
Medical malpractice claims, including diagnostic error cases for a delayed cancer diagnosis, must be filed within a specific amount of time. Under New York law, the statute of limitations for most medical malpractice lawsuits is 2 years and 6 months from the date the malpractice was committed. However, there is an exception that is often relevant in delayed cancer diagnosis cases.
In situations where the patient alleges the “negligent failure to diagnose cancer or a malignant tumor,” the patient must file a lawsuit within 2 years and 6 months from the date the patient knew or reasonably should have known about the healthcare provider’s error, or within 2 years and 6 months from the date of the last treatment for the diagnosed illness or condition. Since delayed cancer diagnosis often results in the patient failing to learn that she or he has cancer until quite sometime later, this exception gives a patient more time to file a lawsuit.
For example, if a patient is misdiagnosed and does not see a doctor again for two years—at which point she has symptoms of the cancer—the statute of limitations ordinarily would only give that patient another 6 months to file a lawsuit. However, given the exception under New York law, the patient may have 2 years and 6 months from the date of the actual cancer diagnosis to file a claim against the negligent healthcare provider who failed to accurately diagnose the disease years prior.
Contact A Troy Delayed Cancer Diagnosis Attorney
If your cancer spread due to a delayed diagnosis, you could be eligible to file a medical malpractice claim against the healthcare provider who failed to make a proper diagnosis. Unfortunately, delayed diagnosis occurs more often than you might think in New York State, and a patient in Troy who otherwise could have had lifesaving treatment for a timely cancer diagnosis may now be looking at a terminal illness. Timing is essential when it comes to cancer diagnosis, and patients should be able to trust that their doctors will be able to provide them with accurate diagnoses when they seek medical evaluation.
One of the experienced Troy delayed cancer diagnosis attorneys at our firm can evaluate your case today and can discuss your options for moving forward with a medical malpractice claim. Contact Powers & Santola, LLP to learn more about the services we provide to injured patients and their families in New York State.
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