Pittsburgh Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis Attorneys
Pennsylvania Medical Negligence Attorney
A diagnosis of lung cancer is always grim news. Only one out of five patients survives more than a year after diagnosis. Early and aggressive treatment is the only real hope of beating the odds. There is no margin for error.
Many people with lung cancer lose precious time because their symptoms are initially dismissed by doctors or they are misdiagnosed with some other lung ailment such as bronchitis or pneumonia. The medical malpractice lawyers of Hal Waldman and Associates have held physicians and hospitals accountable for the lost opportunities and heartbreak of failure to diagnose lung cancer in a timely manner.
Your delayed cancer diagnosis matters to us. We care. We are on your side. Call or e-mail Hal Waldman and Associates in Pittsburgh to schedule a free conversation.
Loss of a Chance for Treatment of Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer and by far the leading killer, accounting for 14 percent of all new cancer cases each year, but nearly 28 percent of all cancer deaths. An estimated 157,000 Americans died of lung cancer in 2010, more than colorectal, breast, prostate and pancreatic cancer together.
When diagnosed and treated in stage 1, the chances are 50/50 that the patient will live for five years. Every month that the diagnosis is delayed drastically reduces life expectancy. For a stage 4 diagnosis, the five-year survival rate is just 2 percent.
The death rate is high for many reasons: Lung cancer is aggressive, the treatments are drastic and the median age of onset is 70. The only controllable factor is delayed diagnosis. That’s where Hal Waldman and Associates comes in. Our experienced lawyers are knowledgeable about the legal and medical aspects of lung cancer, and we work with medical specialists who can attest that the doctors missed an opportunity or came to the wrong conclusions:
- Dismissing patient complaints without follow-up
- Failure to order a chest X-ray, CT scan or biopsy
- Failure to refer to an oncologist or pulmonologist
- Failure to read lab reports or inform the patient of results
- Misinterpreting medical scans, blood tests, etc.
- Lab errors and chain-of-command mistakes
- Misdiagnosis (delay of cancer diagnosis and possibly harmful treatment)
We Are Prepared to Fight for Compensation
A medical malpractice lawsuit seeks damages for the substantial costs of medical, nursing and hospice care; emotional pain and suffering; and loss of a chance for aggressive, early-stage treatments such as lung removal/lung transplant that might have eradicated the cancer or extended life significantly.
We have the resources and experience to take on physicians, health care companies and their insurance carriers, even when they force a jury trial. To make an appointment for a free evaluation of your claim, call a Pittsburgh lung cancer misdiagnosis attorney of Hal Waldman and Associates at 412-338-1000 or use our online contact form.