You’ve suffered physical harm, or lost a loved one, due to a doctor’s negligence. While a reasonable doctor would’ve found and correctly diagnosed the cancer, the doctor you or your loved one saw failed to do that and the cancer progressed.

Now you, with the help of your Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer, have filed a failure to diagnose lawsuit and the doctor is defending himself. The doctor may argue, for example, that it wasn’t his fault – someone else should have caught the mistake. Alternatively, you may have a doctor who argues that the failure to diagnose was because of the cancer itself and not because of his own negligence.

As the doctor argues that he did not breach his duty of care and acted as a reasonable doctor would’ve acted, you may become concerned and frustrated. However, you are not alone. Your Pennsylvania failure to diagnose attorney expects these defenses, is prepared for the defenses and will work hard to get you the fair and equitable discovery that you deserve.

Lung cancer is more prevalent than breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer combined.  And it is deadly if it is not treated early.

Unfortunately, the early stages of lung cancer are often asymptomatic and when symptoms do start they often mimic other, less serious, conditions.  For example, a person with lung cancer can be misdiagnosed as having bronchitis because of a cough and a feeling of fatigue.

If your lung cancer is misdiagnosed or there is a delay in diagnosing your lung cancer then your chances of survival may diminish and you may suffer from more invasive and intense treatments then you otherwise would have required.  For that reason, it is important to insist upon medical tests if you think you might have lung cancer and to protect your rights if your cancer has been misdiagnosed.

There is no question that the failure to diagnose lung cancer is a serious and potentially fatal mistake, but so too is diagnosing lung cancer that doesn’t exist.

Misdiagnosing an infection or other condition as lung cancer has similar serious and potentially fatal consequences because the patient does not get the treatment needed to fight the true medical condition. 

Further, the patient can be harmed by receiving treatment for lung cancer that doesn’t exist.  For example, the patient may receive chemotherapy or radiation that can have significant long term effects on the patient without providing relief from the medical problem that remains misdiagnosed.

Protecting Yourself From a Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis                                           

There are a couple of ways that you can protect yourself against lung cancer misdiagnoses.  First, make sure that your doctor is up to date on the latest screening tests.  Just last week new guidance was released about the use of CT scans to diagnosis lung cancer early and accurately.  Second, make sure to seek a second opinion to make sure that your diagnosis is accurate.

Finally, if you, or a loved one, have suffered from a lung cancer misdiagnosis then you should consult with a Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer.  A medical malpractice attorney cannot undo the harm that has been to do, but may be able to help you and your family recover the financial damages that you need as a result of the wrong diagnosis.