Simply being diagnosed with cancer is a traumatic, life-changing experience that no one wants to have. However, being diagnosed too late, which many patients often find out happened to them, is even worse news, particularly if the treatment options available to you are now limited. While some patients suffer due to late diagnosis, others are misdiagnosed altogether—they received treatment for a cancer they did not have. If you or a loved one were misdiagnosed, or received improper cancer treatment, an attorney can help you file a cancer malpractice claim against the responsible party. The Tampa cancer malpractice lawyers at Freidin Brown, P.A. have been fighting for our clients for more than 45 years, and will do everything in their power to seek maximum compensation for your damages.
Cancer Misdiagnosis
The first goal of treating cancer is to catch it early, before it has time to spread (metastasis). Physicians have an obligation to provide a specific standard of care to their patients. Within this standard of care is evaluating and screening patients for various types of cancer based on the patient’s age, risk factors, family history, symptoms, and other test results. Performing these diagnostic tests can mean the difference between life and death, as many forms of cancer are now treatable to a high degree of success if they are caught early. A misdiagnosis—failure to diagnose the cancer, diagnosing the cancer later than they should have, or diagnosing one type of cancer as something else—is grounds for a medical malpractice claim, though it can be difficult to prove a physician’s failure on any of these points.
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Failure to Properly Treat Cancer
Attempting to treat a patient’s cancer with a new or novel method, or any other method that falls out of line of the standard of care, is grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. This can include administering the wrong medication/chemotherapy, administering too much or too little radiation, and improper or failed surgery.
Damages in a Cancer Malpractice Claim
A cancer patient’s outcome depends greatly on catching the cancer early, properly monitoring the cancer’s growth, and quickly receiving treatment when necessary. Failure to do so can lead to serious complications, including death. Compensation in a medical malpractice claim can include the following:
- Medical expenses and future medical needs
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity
- Emotional distress
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of joy of life
- Lost lifetime earnings in the case of death
- Loss of consortium in the case of death
- Funeral and burial expenses
Call a Tampa Cancer Malpractice Lawyer Today
Cancer takes the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans every year, and causes serious physical and emotional agony for millions more who survive. As such, doctors are trained to screen for cancer of all types; cancer screening and quick treatment is one of the medical industry’s primary objectives. Failure to diagnose, improper treatment, failed surgery, or late diagnosis mistakes should be handled by a Tampa cancer malpractice lawyer.