Pittsburgh Cancer Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis Attorneys
Decades of experience proving medical malpractice in Pennsylvania
The doctor didn’t cause the cancer. But the error occurred when medical professionals chose not to listen to a patient who said, “Something’s not right.” The error was not reading the signs, following up, or giving the patient a chance.
Failure to diagnose cancer is one of the most common — and most tragic — forms of medical malpractice in Pennsylvania. By the time the cancer is diagnosed correctly, the best opportunities to eradicate it may have passed. The patient may have to endure aggressive, invasive treatment to fight the disease. Sometimes, the patient is already beyond medical help.
Failure to diagnose cancer is medical malpractice
If you believe a physician was negligent in failing to detect cancer, we want to know about it. The Pittsburgh medical malpractice attorneys of Hal Waldman & Associates have handled medical negligence cases across the state, including cancer diagnosis claims. If we determine you have grounds for a lawsuit, our firm has the resources to represent you on a contingency fee basis. That means we shoulder the upfront costs of investigating what happened, collecting evidence, and protecting your rights. And if we don’t recover financial compensation, you don’t owe us a fee.
Your cancer malpractice case matters to us. We care. We are on your side. Contact Hal Waldman & Associates in Pittsburgh to schedule a free conversation with a lawyer about your claim today.
How does a major killer escape diagnosis?
There is never a good excuse for delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis. Our knowledgeable Pittsburgh cancer misdiagnosis lawyers work closely with clients and medical experts to determine whether and how they missed diagnosing the cancer sooner. We are skilled at demonstrating how the pediatrician, primary care physician, orthopedic specialist, oncologist, radiologist, or hospital was negligent. Here are some common factors we’ve uncovered in cancer misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis cases:
- Disregarding patient complaints and symptoms
- Failure to recommend colon cancer screenings for men and women over age 50 or recommending less reliable screenings (barium enema, fecal occult blood test) when a colonoscopy or biopsy was indicated
- Failure to order an X-ray, CT scan, or MRI
- Failure to monitor known polyps, perform a biopsy, or request a blood test
- Lab errors
- Misreading diagnostic tests
- Misinterpretation of imaging scans or biopsy results
- Failure to follow up on patient or parent complaints
- Failure to refer to a specialist
- Failure to treat a positive diagnosis accordingly
A medical mistake with life-altering consequences
A diagnostic error occurs when a patient's diagnosis is missed, inappropriately delayed, and/or wrong. Many factors go into determining whether a failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis of cancer constitutes medical negligence. Factors like the type of cancer, how fast it spreads, the delay in diagnosis, whether telltale symptoms were missed, and whether medical professionals followed protocols will determine whether it was medical malpractice.
Our skilled attorneys can review any case of failure to diagnose cancer. We have handled all types of cases, including those involving:
- Breast cancer. While the overall breast cancer survival rate is very good and inches up each year with new medical advances, it still needs to be caught early to be treated.
- Cervical cancer. Ovarian cancer is highly treatable in the early stages.
- Colon and rectal cancer. Failure to diagnose colon cancer is one of the most common lawsuits for delayed cancer diagnosis.
- Prostate cancer. Due to early detection and screenings, most prostate cancer patients survive. However, misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose reduces the chance of survival.
- Lung cancer. Many people with lung cancer lose precious time because doctors initially dismiss their symptoms or they are misdiagnosed with some other lung ailment, such as bronchitis or pneumonia.
- Melanoma (skin cancer). Melanomas account for a fraction of all skin cancer cases but 4 out of 5 skin cancer deaths.
- Bone cancer. This is one of the most heart-wrenching types of cancer because it commonly afflicts children and young adults. The survival rate is quite good when detected early, but late-stage diagnosis often leads to death or requires amputation to save the young person’s life.
Victims were never given a chance
Would you be cancer-free today, or would your loved one still be alive had the cancer been diagnosed sooner? The gist of a medical malpractice lawsuit for misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose cancer is that the patient was deprived of that chance to get better because the doctors messed up.
If you believe that medical professionals could have - and should have - diagnosed cancer sooner, contact the Pittsburgh cancer misdiagnosis and failure to diagnose attorneys of Hal Waldman & Associates for a free case evaluation. Our legal team has extensive experience in medical negligence litigation throughout Pennsylvania. We proudly serve communities throughout Western Pennsylvania. During your free evaluation, we can listen to the details of what happened, answer questions, and explain your legal options.
