About cancer misdiagnosis claims
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If negligent care let cancer progress and caused harm, a missed or delayed diagnosis may support a malpractice claim. That takes more than a later diagnosis. Before asking a lawyer in your state to review the care you received before diagnosis, get your current medical questions answered.
Even if you don't know who was responsible, you can ask for a review. Use your chart and remembered dates to get started. If something's uncertain, say so: suspecting what happened isn't the same as finding it written in a test report.
What cancer misdiagnosis means
When cancer is missed or recognized late, that's cancer misdiagnosis. If symptoms went unaddressed, the worry is that cancer progressed when it could have been treated earlier. Care could also have been delayed by misread imaging or a lost test result.
Whether these failures happened in your care still needs review. While an imaging report may show what was seen at a particular visit, a lawyer can use later messages to piece together what happened next.
When you take notes, separate the earlier diagnosis from the later cancer diagnosis. Use what the clinician actually told you. What you now think they should have said shouldn't replace it.
If you want a broader look, see Misdiagnosis & Delayed Diagnosis. The Laboratory Errors page may help you decide what to ask if you're worried about a test result that never arrived.
Where the diagnostic process may have broken down
Ask where the information stopped leading toward an answer. If you reported a symptom, was it addressed, and did the imaging report reach the clinician who was supposed to review it? Rather than assuming someone made an error, these questions help the lawyer start reviewing the records.
- Symptoms: Note when you reported symptoms and what you said. If you can't remember the medical term, use your own words to describe the response you received.
- Imaging: Ask for the report itself. So the lawyer can compare the accounts, keep later discussions of that report separate from it.
- Test results: Along with the test date, keep any message you received about the result. Write down if no result reached you. That doesn't mean it was normal.
- Follow-up: If another appointment or test was recommended, keep those instructions. When an expected result didn't arrive, note whether you asked anyone for help.
Warning signs to document, not diagnose yourself
If a result is missing or you've repeatedly reported a symptom, you have reason to ask about the diagnostic process. Alone, neither is proof of cancer or malpractice. To find out which symptoms need attention and what follow-up makes sense, ask the clinician who's treating you now.
When you prepare for the legal review, get specific. With the date, your message and the reply included, “I called about the same symptom again” gives the lawyer more to work with. While you're finishing the record, don't put off medical care.
A bad outcome and malpractice are different questions
To understand how the standard of care applies, ask the lawyer about your case. Before examining whether the clinician or facility fell short, the review should explain what care was needed under the circumstances. Being disappointed with the outcome doesn't settle that question.
The lawyer must review causation separately. If there was an avoidable delay, ask what it changed. To understand the link between earlier care and the cancer's later progression, ask the lawyer how a medical reviewer would assess it.
Then talk about the harm. When you meet, bring records of your condition after diagnosis, plus bills or other documents you want the lawyer to consider. Under your state's law, which losses might count?
Build a record the lawyer can follow
What you already have is enough to start. Before you've collected every document, you can build a working timeline. If an entry comes from memory, label it that way; attach supporting records where you have them.
Address your current care
To understand the diagnosis and the next medical step, ask the clinician treating you. Keep the instructions somewhere you'll be able to find them.
Write down the earlier encounters
After noting the first visit you think matters, add the calls or appointments that followed. If a date's uncertain, label it approximate.
Request the underlying records
When requesting chart entries and imaging reports, ask for relevant test results too. So the lawyer can see which records haven't arrived, keep copies of the requests you send.
Preserve the communications
Save written follow-up instructions along with portal messages. Even when an original message is unclear, don't change it. Use a separate note for context.
Ask for a state-specific review
As you share your timeline, tell the lawyer what worries you. Before spending more time gathering records, ask when you need to file.
When helping a family member, identify which events you saw for yourself. Separate those from what the patient later told you; before joining the review or getting records, ask the lawyer what permission you'll need.
Deadlines differ by state
Receiving the cancer diagnosis doesn't necessarily mean that's when the statute of limitations began. The deadlines depend on your state. Use the state pages to find where to start that discussion, but a lawyer needs to assess the dates in your case.
When you speak with the lawyer, give the earlier care dates and say when you first learned something might have been missed. If you're unsure, say so. To understand your deadline, ask the lawyer to explain it clearly and whether other filing requirements affect your case.
Choosing a lawyer for the review
When looking at firms, check whether they say they handle cancer misdiagnosis claims. According to Morris Wilson's Pennsylvania page, its lawyers represent patients in these cases. You can also read about cancer misdiagnosis on Mirman, Markovits & Landau's New York City page.
Even if a firm lists this practice area, that doesn't predict your claim's outcome. If you suspect a particular diagnostic failure, ask about the firm's work involving it. After requesting any available published results, ask what you can learn from them about your situation and what they don't tell you.
- When you review the medical records, who does it, and what other records would help?
- If the diagnosis had come earlier, how will you assess whether that would've changed what happened?
- Who will track the deadline for my case, and which deadline do I face?
- If fees or case expenses fall to me, which ones? I'd like the terms put in writing.
- How will I hear from you if you agree to investigate?
Published firm contact numbers
On their cancer misdiagnosis pages, the firms list these contact numbers. You can use them to make contact, not to rank firms or value a case. Before proceeding, ask whether the firm can review the care you received in your state.
Find the page closest to your diagnosis
If a cancer-specific page matches the diagnosis in your records, choose that one. Keep notes for the lawyer about what concerns you in the way the diagnosis was missed or delayed.
- Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis
- Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis
- Colon Cancer Misdiagnosis
- Ovarian Cancer Misdiagnosis
- Pancreatic Cancer Misdiagnosis
- Prostate Cancer Misdiagnosis
- Brain Tumor Misdiagnosis
- Cervical Cancer Misdiagnosis
- Skin Cancer and Melanoma Misdiagnosis
- Bladder Cancer Misdiagnosis
What to do next
In a brief account, explain what makes you think the diagnosis was delayed. Along with the report documenting the cancer diagnosis, attach the earliest record that's relevant. Say if you don't yet know what happened in the time between those records.
See Hospital & Nursing Negligence if you're worried about the way the hospital handled results. Rather than identifying every possible defendant yourself, ask the lawyer reviewing your care to assess who may be responsible.
1.Something went wrong
Write down dates and names while they're fresh.
2.Get your records
Ask for your full chart and test results.
3.Free case review
A lawyer looks at what happened, free.
4.Medical opinion
A doctor checks whether the care fell short.
5.File before the deadline
Your lawyer starts the claim before the deadline.
6.Settlement or trial
Many claims settle. Some go to a judge or jury.
Common questions
Can a doctor be sued for missing a diagnosis?
How do I deal with bad news about cancer?
How do I challenge a suspected cancer misdiagnosis?
Is delayed diagnosis medical negligence?
What is the average payout for cancer misdiagnosis?
What is the most common reason for cancer misdiagnosis?
Sources
- NYC Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyer, Mirman, Markovits & Landau, P.C.
- Pennsylvania Cancer Misdiagnosis Attorney, Morris Wilson
- Las Vegas Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyer, Burris & Thomas, LLC
- Colorado Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyers, Leventhal Puga Braley P.C.