Failure to Diagnose Lung Cancer

Lung cancer accounts for over twenty percent of all deaths caused by malignancies annually. While early detection offers a chance for successful treatment, it is unfortunately common for lung cancer to go undiagnosed lung cancer until it has become uncurable. In many cases, a patient will present with symptoms of lung cancer, but they go unnoticed due to the negligence of the doctor responsible for their care. If a doctor’s failure to diagnose lung cancer caused you or a loved one to suffer harm, you may be able to recover damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit, and you should consult an attorney. The Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers know what it takes to succeed in claims against incompetent physicians, and if you engage our services, we can help you explore your options for seeking the compensation you deserve. We routinely help people pursue damages for medical malpractice in Syracuse, where our primary office is located, as well as in Rochester and other cities in Upstate New York.

Doctors usually engage in a comprehensive process to diagnose lung cancer. They will usually begin by obtaining a thorough medical history from a patient and conducting a physical examination, during which they will assess the patient’s risk factors and respiratory issues. If a patient has concerning symptoms, they will often conduct imaging tests, such as chest X-rays and CT scans, to help identify abnormalities in the lungs. If such tests reveal suspicious lesions, they will then most likely perform a biopsy to establish if the lesions are cancerous. They may also test for cancer cells in the patient’s mucus and for tumor markers in their blood.

The failure to diagnose lung cancer in a timely manner typically has devastating consequences. A missed diagnosis allows the disease to spread undetected. Subsequently, if lung cancer has progressed to advanced stages, it may limit a patient’s treatment options, worsen their prognosis, and increase the likelihood of the cancer spreading to other organs.

The failure to diagnose lung cancer is often the result of a doctor’s carelessness, and people harmed by such oversights have the right to pursue damages from the parties responsible for their harm in a medical malpractice lawsuit. In most instances, a plaintiff in a medical malpractice case will contend the defendant’s negligence caused their losses.

In New York, establishing the negligence of a defendant health care provider requires the plaintiff to prove that the defendant owed them a duty of care. Typically, this duty, which arises out of the doctor-patient relationship, is to provide treatment that aligns with what is considered the good and accepted standards of medical care within the relevant community. The plaintiff also has to prove that the defendant breached the standard of care and that the breach caused the plaintiff to sustain calculable losses. In other words, they must show that the defendant’s failure to diagnose lung cancer caused injuries that they would not have suffered if they received a timely diagnosis.

It is not uncommon for a defendant in a medical malpractice case to argue that factors outside of the defendant’s control caused the plaintiff’s losses. As such, the plaintiff will usually need to retain a medical expert to advise the jury of the standard of care, how the defendant breached the standard, and how such acts or omissions led to the plaintiff’s damages.

Lung cancer is an aggressive disease, and a delayed diagnosis can have dire consequences. If you or a loved one has experienced harm due to a physician’s failure to diagnose lung cancer, you might be able to recover damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit, and it is in your best interest to speak to an attorney as soon as possible. The capable Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers aggressively advocate for victims of careless medical mistakes, and if you hire us, we can evaluate your losses and advise you of what damages you may be owed. Our main office is in Syracuse, and we often represent people in medical malpractice matters in Syracuse, Rochester, and other locations throughout Upstate New York. You can call us at 833-200-2000 or use our form online to contact us to arrange a free and confidential consultation.