Cancer Misdiagnosis Malpractice Cases

Cancer misdiagnosis is tragically common. A misdiagnosis can mean that cancer goes untreated and progresses and spreads. In some cases, it results in the death of the misdiagnosed patient. The damages you can recover from your health care provider as the result of a cancer misdiagnosis vary, depending on the circumstances and harm suffered. If you were harmed as the result of a cancer misdiagnosis malpractice case, you should consult the seasoned Syracuse medical malpractice lawyers of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Attorneys. We have more than 35 years of experience fighting for injured patients in a courtroom, seeking the best damages award possible on their behalf.

Misdiagnosis of breast cancer, bladder cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, uterine cancer and ovarian cancer can result in a patient facing a worsened prognosis. If you were harmed by your doctor’s misdiagnosis, you may be wondering what your case is worth. An experienced attorney will look at a broad range of factors in trying to evaluate what a client or prospective client’s case is worth. In order to recover any damages, we will need to establish liability.

In order to establish liability for a cancer misdiagnosis malpractice case, we will need to prove it’s more likely than not: (1) the defendant health care provider owed you a professional standard of care, (2) departure from the professional standard of care, (3) causation, and (4) damages. The professional standard of care depends on the accepted standards and practices of other health care providers in the same specialty and geographic region as the defendant. Your radiologist may breach the professional standard of care, for example, if he misreads your imaging studies and misdiagnoses you with an infection when you have lymphoma; a misdiagnosis of this kind could result in your lymphoma spreading and you needing substantially more expensive and painful medical care than you would have required had it been diagnosed properly to begin with.

Once liability is established, we may be able to recover economic damages, which are intended to compensate you for tangible and usually documented losses you’ve suffered as a result of the cancer misdiagnosis. They need to be proven, but can include past, present, and future harms. An economic damages award may include wage loss, replacement services, out-of-pocket losses, and medical bills arising out of medical malpractice, as opposed to the cancer itself. For example, if you were misdiagnosed while your breast cancer was Stage 1 and therefore your cancer was not treated and progressed to Stage 4, becoming very painful and difficult to treat, we may be able to recover the costs of getting medical treatment and hiring someone to take care of the housekeeping and other tasks you can no longer do because of cancer.

Our lawyers will discuss with you the ways in which your life was intangibly altered as a result of cancer misdiagnosis. Noneconomic damages can include pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment, and loss of consortium. For example, if you can no longer be intimate with your spouse as a result of gynecological cancer that progressed due to misdiagnosis, we may be able to recover loss of consortium damages for your spouse. Personal qualities of a plaintiff may strongly impact the nature and quantity of damages the jury would believe naturally flow from misdiagnosis.

Every case is different. Settlements for cancer misdiagnosis cases in which a patient survives can range from $50,000 to more than $1 million dollars depending on the extent to which you were harmed by the misdiagnosis and whether egregious misconduct and punitive damages are involved. It can be challenging, however, to prove liability, particularly if a health care provider argues that you would have suffered the same harms from the natural course of your cancer. When a fair sum is not offered for a strong case, we may seek damages before a jury at trial.

If you or a loved one was injured in a boating accident, the Syracuse lawyers of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Attorneys may be able to represent you. We represent cancer patients and their families in Auburn, Wampsville, Oneida, Rochester, Utica, Watertown, Lowville, Elmira, Oswego, Canandaigua, Lyons, Ithaca, Cooperstown, Herkimer, and Binghamton. Complete our online form or call us at 833-200-2000.