“You have cancer.”
They are three of the scariest words you can hear from your doctor. Sometimes, however, it is when those words aren’t spoken that can have even more devastating consequences.
A misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of cancer symptoms can lead a physician to conclude that cancer is not present when it, in fact, is, allowing the cancer to remain undetected and grow untreated, often to the point where the chances of survival are minimal.
Unfortunately, cancer misdiagnoses are shockingly common. It is estimated that more than 100,000 Americans die or are permanently disabled each year due to medical diagnoses that initially miss conditions or are incorrect. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University found that almost 38 percent of all diagnostic errors that result in death or permanent disability involve a missed or delayed cancer diagnosis. A separate Johns Hopkins study examined tissue samples from 6,000 cancer patients across the country and found that one out of every 71 cases involved misdiagnosed and up to one out of five cancer cases involved misclassification. According to some estimates, an astounding 1.3 million people receive a cancer misdiagnosis every single year.
Diagnosing many conditions can be difficult, cancer especially. But if doctors, oncologists, radiologists, and other health care professionals are negligent in making their determinations as to a patient’s condition and make an incorrect cancer diagnosis, it can be the basis of a medical malpractice claim. And one of the most common medical errors that contributes to missed or delayed cancer diagnoses is radiological malpractice.
What is Radiological Malpractice?
To understand what is going wrong inside their patient’s body, physicians must see what is going on inside their patient’s body. To do that, physicians rely on radiological technology that produces diagnostic images of the body’s internal functioning. Such common imaging tools include MRIs, CT scans, x-rays, sonograms, and ultrasounds.
Radiologists are specially trained doctors who must follow the same standards of care as any other physician. This includes carefully taking, processing, and interpreting the images produced by these imaging tools. In conjunction with physicians, the radiologists who take these pictures use them to identify and diagnose illnesses, injuries, or other conditions, including cancer. But when they incorrectly interpret or analyze those images, it can lead to a misdiagnosis. And that misdiagnosis, along with the often-fatal consequences of such mistakes, can constitute medical malpractice that could result in the recovery of significant compensation.
Looking For Answers After a Cancer Misdiagnosis? Contact Me Today For a Free Consultation.
If you received a delayed cancer diagnosis or misdiagnosis and believe that your physicians, radiologists, or other health care providers may have negligently failed to timely and correctly identify your condition, I welcome the opportunity to be of assistance. I work closely with medical experts including highly credentialed physicians and radiologists to evaluate and pursue cases of medical malpractice based on a radiological misdiagnosis. If we determine that doctors and radiologists were negligent in their use or interpretation of diagnostic images, we will vigorously pursue compensation for injuries our clients suffer as a result.
Please reach out to me today at 816.931.1400 to arrange for a free consultation.
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