If a doctor fails to diagnose, or incorrectly diagnoses, a patient with lung cancer, it can have catastrophic consequences. A delayed diagnosis can mean the difference between life and death. If you or a family member have suffered due to a doctor’s incorrect, missed, or delayed lung cancer diagnosis, you may be eligible to receive compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering through a medical malpractice lawsuit.
For expert guidance on your legal rights, reach out to the experienced cancer misdiagnosis lawyers at William Pager Law Firm. With a wealth of experience in handling lung cancer misdiagnosis claims, our attorneys have assisted numerous families in recovering compensation after facing such distressing situations.
Our attorneys can help when the unimaginable happens. Contact us today 718-998-1010 to speak with a lung cancer misdiagnosis attorney about your claim.
In This Article:
- Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyers
- How Does a Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis Happen?
- Common Diseases and Symptoms that Mimic Lung Cancer
- What Steps Do I Take If I Was Misdiagnosed?
- Common Misdiagnosed Lung Cancer Treatment
- Do I Have a Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawsuit?
- Requirements to Prove Medical Malpractice
- How Long Do You Have to Sue a Doctor?
- What Damages May Be Included for Misdiagnosis?
- Our Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyers Can Help When the Unimaginable Happens
Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyers
When a doctor fails to diagnose or misdiagnoses a patient with lung cancer, the repercussions can be devastating. A delayed diagnosis can literally mean the difference between life and death. If you or a loved one have suffered due to a doctor’s erroneous, missed, or delayed diagnosis of lung cancer, you may be entitled to seek compensation for your medical expenses, lost income, and emotional distress through a medical malpractice lawsuit.
For expert legal guidance on your rights, do not hesitate to reach out to the experienced cancer misdiagnosis attorneys at William Pager Law Firm. With a record of accomplishment of assisting numerous families in securing compensation after facing such challenging circumstances, our lawyers are here to advocate for you. Contact us today to discuss your case and explore your options.
How Does a Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis Happen?
Lung cancer remains a tragically prevalent and highly lethal form of cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 235,760 new cases of lung cancer emerge each year, resulting in 131,880 fatalities, with 69,410 occurring in men and 62,470 in women. Shockingly, a new diagnosis is made every 150 seconds.
Early detection significantly improves your chances of survival; when identified in its initial stages, lung cancer boasts an 80 to 90 percent cure rate. However, if your doctor fails to recognize the warning signs and delays treatment, your prospects diminish, and you endure increased suffering through no fault of your own.
Despite advancements in medical technology and the widespread occurrence of lung cancer, diagnostic errors by doctors are alarmingly common. These inaccuracies not only induce stress but also impede your access to vital treatment.
Misdiagnosis often happens in the following ways:
- Misread imaging tests. Doctors may miss cancer on a CT scan, MRI, X-ray, or PET scan. This situation arises from an overreliance on a chest x-ray or other scans; doctors review them, decide the mass on the image is not cancer, and do not take further tests to confirm that. Alternatively, they may conclude the mass is cancer without verification.
- Confusion with a benign condition. After a physical exam, doctors may conclude that you suffer from a benign condition instead of cancer. Gastric reflux, COPD, and asthma are commonly confused with lung cancer because they share similar symptoms. Patients undergo treatment for these conditions, only for them not to work. By the time doctors start more extensive diagnostic tests, they already wasted valuable time, and your recovery chances decrease.
- Failure to follow-up. Sometimes, a test or x-ray shows possible malignancy, including lymph node enlargement or lung nodules. If a doctor does not follow up on these abnormalities, they may miss a lung cancer diagnosis. Meanwhile, you do not feel better and keep pursuing further testing and treatment to no avail.
- Dismissal of patient’s claims. In the most egregious misdiagnosis cases, doctors fail to listen to their patients. They either believe their patient is exaggerating or decide the symptoms link to another cause and refuse to investigate further. If you feel dismissed, it is crucial to insist on a second opinion and receive additional tests. However, if you face this hurdle, it is valuable time missed for treatment, and it risks your lung cancer becoming much worse.
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What Steps Do I Take If I Was Misdiagnosed?
If you believe your doctor misdiagnosed you, knowledge is power, and you need to push for options. However, if these efforts result in further misdiagnosis or a late lung cancer diagnosis, you need to hire a medical malpractice attorney soon.
Get A Second Opinion:
A second opinion from an oncologist (cancer specialist) is crucial after a misdiagnosis. It is the only way to know for sure about your health, and it can help you in a cancer misdiagnosis lawsuit later.
Specific situations calling for a second opinion include:
- Your doctor cannot determine the type or extent of your cancer.
- Your doctor seems to dismiss your symptoms or underestimate the seriousness of your condition.
- You face a rare form of lung cancer.
- Your doctor is not a specialist.
- You believe there are other treatment options available.
If you see a good oncologist, you will undergo thorough testing and have access to more treatments. Otherwise, you risk cancer spreading and evolving into the later stages. If you do not receive this care, find another doctor.
You can find an oncologist either through the American Society of Clinical Oncology or the American Medical Association.
Know Lung Cancer Types & Stages:
Knowing lung cancer stages and types can help you communicate with specialists and get back on track with your diagnosis. When you see a specialist, you can be sure to ask the right questions and assess whether they will test you thoroughly.
There are three types of lung cancer.
They include two common types and one less-common type:
- Small cell lung cancer (SCLC)
- Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
- Carcinoid lung cancer
SCLC comprises 20 percent of diagnosed lung cancers, and it is quicker-growing cancer.
It has two stages:
- Cancer present in one lung and sometimes in lymph nodes.
- Cancer present in both lungs, the fluid around the lung, and other organs in the body.
Doctors rate NSCLC on the TNM system: Tumor (T), Node (N), and Metastasis. Each element rates on a scale of zero to four, with the highest numbers being the most severe. For example, an N1 score is a smaller node than an N2 score.
NSCLC also has stages including:
- Occult stage: Cancer cells are present in sputum, but there are no tumors on the lungs, or the tumors are too small to detect.
- Stage 0: This stage is carcinoma in situ. The tumors are small, and cancer has not spread to other organs or into deep lung tissue.
- Stage 1: Cancer detected in lung tissues but has not spread to lymph nodes.
- Stage 2: Cancer detected in lymph nodes or chest wall.
- Stage 3: Cancer spreads from the lungs into lymph nodes and nearby organs, including the heart, trachea, and esophagus.
- Stage 4: The most advanced stage where cancer metastasized beyond the lungs and into other body areas. About 40 percent of patients receive their diagnosis at this stage, and their five-year survival rate is less than 10 percent.
Carcinoid lung cancer describes tumors that develop in the lungs. They are the least common cancer, and they grow slower than the other types of cancer. They start in the neuroendocrine cells and usually stay in the lungs.
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Common Misdiagnosed Lung Cancer Treatment
If you have, a medical malpractice claim related to a missed lung cancer diagnosis, a significant portion of your damages includes medical expenses. Your treatment will likely be more intense and costly compared to if your doctor had identified the lung cancer at an earlier stage.
Once diagnosed with lung cancer, you may undergo any of the following treatment methods:
- If cancer remains in your lungs, surgery is a likely option. Your surgeon may perform a wedge resection, which removes a small section containing the tumor as well as some healthy tissue. Segmental resection removes more significant portions of your lung but never an entire lobe. A lobectomy removes a lobe in one lung, and severe cases may require a pneumonectomy or the removal of one lung. Your surgeon may also remove lymph nodes from your chest to check and see if cancer spread outside your lungs.
- This therapy uses high-power energy beams to kill cancer cells. It is a common treatment before and after surgery to address locally advanced cancer. If cancer spreads to other areas of your body, radiation therapy may relieve pain symptoms.
- Chemotherapy involves using intravenous drugs to kill cancer cells. Depending on your treatment plan, you may use one or multiple drugs to target cancer. It is effective after surgery if cancer remains and often accompanies radiation therapy. If your cancer is advanced, chemotherapy helps relieve pain symptoms.
- Stereotactic body radiotherapy. Commonly known as radiosurgery, this therapy is effective for patients who are poor surgery candidates. It involves intense radiation focused at many angles of cancer growth. This treatment works well on small cancers and cancer that spreads to other parts of the body, including the brain.
- Targeted drug therapy. These treatments work by blocking abnormalities within cancer cells, which kills them. It only works for lung cancer containing specific genetic mutations and is often reserved for those facing advanced or recurrent cancer.
- Your immune system does not attack cancer cells because they release proteins that keep them from being noticed. However, if you use immunotherapy, it blocks the proteins and allows your immune system to fight cancer. It works for locally advanced lung cancer and cancer that spread to other organs.
- Palliative care. Palliative care manages cancer symptoms and side effects of drug, radiation, or chemotherapy treatment. Your doctor refers you to a palliative care team after your diagnosis to help your comfort levels as you receive treatment. Those receiving palliative care early often enjoy a higher quality of life during cancer treatment.
Do I Have a Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawsuit?
It is crucial to consult with a medical malpractice attorney promptly if you suspect that your doctor overlooked diagnosing your lung cancer. These cases involve intricate details and typically require extensive gathering of evidence, which can take considerable time. Therefore, initiating the process sooner allows us to begin building a stronger case on your behalf.
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Requirements to Prove Medical Malpractice
If you believe you have a claim against a doctor who railed to diagnose lung cancer, you must prove:
- The doctor owed you a duty of care.
- You were that doctor’s patient.
- Your doctor did not meet the accepted standard of care.
- Failure to meet that standard resulted in injury or financial, physical, mental, or other damage.
Examples of breaches of accepted medical care standards include:
- Failure to detect reasonably apparent lung cancer symptoms that another doctor would identify
- Failure to order testing or imaging, even though another doctor would follow through on these procedures after observing your symptoms
- Test result errors due to breach of protocol or procedure
- Failure to follow through on laboratory recommendations regarding additional testing on test results, including tissue sample biopsies
- Laboratory failure to identify or assess abnormal cell activity, e.g., abnormal growth patterns in tissue biopsies
How Long Do You Have to Sue a Doctor?
In New York, medical malpractice claims are subject to a statute of limitations of two years and six months. This timeframe commences either from the date when your doctor misdiagnosed your cancer or from the conclusion of your treatment
What Damages May Be Included for Misdiagnosis?
Your damages for lung cancer misdiagnosis may include:
- Past, present, and future medical expenses
- Lost wages from missing work
- Loss of earning capacity due to disability or long-term symptoms
- Pain and suffering
- Reduced quality or enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium or loss of companionship
If your legal action pertains to a loved one who passed away following a misdiagnosis of lung cancer, you have the opportunity to pursue additional compensation. In addition to the previously mentioned damages, you may seek compensation for loss of future income and support, as well as further pain and suffering. Though uncommon in medical malpractice cases, punitive damages may also be awarded if the medical negligence was intentional and particularly egregious.
Furthermore, you may have additional claims, such as hospital negligence, if inadequate care, surgical errors, misinterpretation of medical records, or any other oversight exacerbated your condition. This underscores the importance of retaining a seasoned attorney who can examine your case thoroughly and identify various avenues for obtaining compensation for your losses.
Our Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyers Can Help When the Unimaginable Happens
The cancer misdiagnosis attorneys at William Pager Law Firm are prepared to evaluate your case and assist you in obtaining the compensation you are entitled to. If you suspect that you have been a victim of a misdiagnosis of lung cancer and are confronting a grim prognosis because of this negligence, it is crucial to act promptly. Time is of the essence, and scheduling an appointment soon is imperative to protect your legal rights and pursue the justice you deserve.
Why Choose The William Pager Law Firm?
For over 23 years, The William Pager Law Firm has distinguished itself through a steadfast commitment to actively listen to and thoroughly understand the experiences of our clients. Our dedication to aggressively seeking just and appropriate compensation for those injured in New York is unwavering.
- Empathetic Listening: We prioritize your recovery, ensuring empathetic listening and maintaining clear, consistent communication to effectively advocate on your behalf.
- Pressure Alleviation: Trust us to lift the burden off your shoulders. We meticulously gather every detail of your case and skillfully negotiate with insurance companies, so you can focus on healing.
- Strategic Advocacy: Our approach to your case and representation is never casual but always intentional and strategic, tailored to meet your needs through our extensive experience.
- Unyielding Commitment: Our drive doesn’t fade with fatigue; we persevere until we achieve the desired outcome.
Concentrate on your recovery; let The William Pager Law Firm handle the rest, ensuring your voice is heard and your rights are protected.