Wrongful Death From Failure to Diagnose Colon Cancer

Colon cancer affects the large intestine (also called the colon), which is the lowest portion of a person’s digestive system. In 2022, across the country, there were 106,180 new cases of colon cancer. Typically colorectal cancers grow in their sufferers’ bodies over years. They start out, however, as little benign growths called polyps located in the colon. Colonoscopies, as provided under the colon cancer screening guidelines can prevent colorectal cancer from occurring or recurring. When a polyp is removed early, prior to becoming malignant, colorectal cancer may be stopped. If your loved one died because of a doctor’s failure to diagnose colon cancer, the seasoned Syracuse wrongful death lawyers of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Attorneys may be able to represent you.

Colonoscopies and following the pertinent guidelines given your medical history and personal information can be important to stopping the disease from developing or progressing and metastasizing. The five year survival rate is better than 90% when a cancer is discovered prior to spreading. It is lower than 10%, however, if cancer isn’t found until it’s spread significantly. Your loved one should have been offered a colon cancer screening starting around age 50. Those who have an increased risk are supposed to be offered colon screening at an earlier age. Anyone with symptoms that suggest the possibility of colorectal cancer, however, may require testing; doctors are supposed to abide by accepted medical practices of their geographic community and specialty when it comes to diagnosis.

When a doctor fails to diagnose colon cancer, the result may be wrongful death. If you are the personal representative of a patient who died due to failure to diagnose colon cancer, you may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit to recover damages for survivors. Wrongful death lawsuits are those caused by neglect—including professional neglect—a wrongful act, or a default. It may be appropriate to file a wrongful death lawsuit when a decedent could have filed a medical malpractice lawsuit prior to dying. In some cases, a wrongful death claim is added to an existing medical malpractice lawsuit after a patient dies due to failure to diagnose cancer.

To establish liability for failure to diagnose colon cancer, our Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys will need to show by a preponderance of the evidence: (1) the defendant health care provider owed you a professional standard of care, (2) he departed from the professional standard of care, (3) the departure caused your injuries, and (4) damages. The professional standard of care in the lawsuit depends on what other reasonable providers in the same specialty as the defendant and practicing in the same geographic region would have done under the circumstances.

Once liability is established, we will need to prove damages with sufficient certainty. You may be able to recover losses arising out of the wrongful death if you had certain kinds of relationships with the decedent, such as if the decedent was your parent or your spouse. These can include both economic and noneconomic damages. The Grieving Families Act, a law that passed with bipartisan support is pending the signature of the governor—this law would allow family members to claim emotional damages in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Nothing can fully make up for the loss of a loved one. However, there are significant emotional losses, in addition to medical bills and funeral and burial expenses, and it can be important to hold a health care provider who departed from accepted medical practices accountable. If your loved one suffered a wrongful death due to failure to diagnose colon cancer, you should talk with our seasoned Syracuse medical malpractice lawyers. DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Attorneys has more than 30 years of experience seeking best results in wrongful death lawsuits filed on behalf of families in Oneida, Canandaigua, Oswego, Lyons, Albany, Lowville, Watertown, Herkimer, Auburn, Buffalo, Utica, Rochester, Wampsville, Ithaca, Cooperstown, Elmira, Binghamton, and all of Upstate New York. For a free consultation, complete our online form or call us at 833-200-2000.