Imagine a family going through a confusing and heartbreaking time. A loved one starts feeling off. Maybe they’re tired, losing weight, or experiencing a persistent cough or a lump that won’t go away. They go to the doctor, sometimes more than once, but they’re told that everything appears to be fine. While that may be a relief at first, if the person continues to have symptoms, it can be worse than if the doctor had given them bad news.
Months later, they finally get a diagnosis: cancer. That’s bad enough, but then they learn that it could have been caught much earlier, when they first started feeling that something wasn’t right. For families in this type of situation, the delay in diagnosis can feel like a betrayal. Surely the doctors should have known?
At Shapiro, Washburn, & Sharp, we’ve seen how this type of delay can change a person’s life. We’ve also helped families facing this type of situation figure out whether they may have a medical malpractice claim. These cases can be complex, but with our help, you can find answers to your questions.
How can you tell whether a delayed diagnosis constitutes a medical malpractice claim? We’ll explain that below. Meanwhile, if you or a loved one is dealing with this issue, please call our Virginia Beach medical malpractice lawyers today at 833-997-1774 for a free consultation.
What Does “Failure to Diagnose Cancer” Mean?
If a doctor or medical professional fails to diagnose cancer, that means they didn’t recognize or act on the signs of cancer in a timely way. It’s possible that they overlooked something on a test, dismissed a patient’s symptoms without further investigation, or failed to connect the dots when they should have.
Let’s say that a woman visits her doctor several times, complaining of back pain, ongoing fatigue, and strange weight loss. Granted, these symptoms could signal many different medical conditions, but if the doctor doesn’t order the proper tests or refer the patient to a specialist—and months later she’s diagnosed with cancer—that might be considered a failure to diagnose.
Cancer is complicated, however, and doctors aren’t expected to be perfect. The law also sees these cases slightly differently from other medical malpractice cases. A surgical error, for example, or a medication mistake is more clear-cut with immediate consequences that are easy to prove. Failure to diagnose something like cancer isn’t so easy to pinpoint, and often requires more evidence. That’s why it’s important to have a good medical malpractice attorney on your side.
What We Look for in a Failure to Diagnose Case
When someone contacts us after a delayed cancer diagnosis, we’ll look for a few things to determine whether they may have a malpractice case. The first is always timing. How long was the delay? When should the diagnosis have occurred?
Perhaps the person was suffering from a persistent cough in January. Their doctor ordered an X-ray, but didn’t follow up when the results showed a suspicious spot. Six months later, the patient is diagnosed with lung cancer that’s spread to other organs. Our question would be: could that cancer have been caught in January? And if so, would the treatment have been different?
The time interval between the missed opportunity and the actual diagnosis is critical, as it helps us determine whether the delay was long enough to cause harm.
Did the Delay Affect the Stage or Treatment?
Our next question is always this: Did the delay change how the doctors treated the cancer, or the chances of survival?
If the answer is “yes,” the patient is likely to have a medical malpractice case. Cancer is usually classified in stages. Stage I is typically an early, more treatable stage, whereas Stage IV is the most advanced and most dangerous. If the delay didn’t change the stage—maybe the person was in Stage I in January but remained there six months later—there may not be a strong malpractice case. The treatment would likely be the same, and even if the delay was upsetting, it may not affect the patient’s chances of recovery or survival.
On the other hand, if the delay did have a significant impact, that suggests the misdiagnosis caused real harm. Let’s say the patient’s cancer was likely Stage I when they first had symptoms, but by the time they were diagnosed six months later, it had advanced to Stage III. Now the cancer has spread, and the treatment has to be more aggressive, potentially lowering the odds of recovery and survival. This is a situation where the delay would be the basis of a malpractice claim.
Why Do Doctors Miss Cancer Diagnoses?
You’d think with all the advancements in medical technology, it would be much easier to catch cancer these days. In some ways, it is, but mistakes can happen along the way.
Misread or Overlooked Test Results
A radiologist might miss a tumor on a scan, or a blood test may be flagged as abnormal, but then forgotten about.
Failure to Order Appropriate Tests
Sometimes, doctors fail to pursue evidence of a problem. They may decide the patient is fine without tests, or they may fail to follow up with all the tests necessary to rule out cancer.
Communication Breakdown
A cancer diagnosis requires communication between the doctor, the person reading the test results, staff members, and more. Test results may be sent to the wrong doctor, lost in transit somewhere, or not communicated clearly between the parties involved, including the patient.
Failure to Follow Up
Doctors may neglect to schedule follow-up visits or re-check abnormal results.
Patient-Related Factors
Sometimes, a patient may not mention an important symptom or may delay seeking medical care. That may impact a medical malpractice case somewhat, but doctors are still responsible for acting on the information they have.
What Should I Do If I Suspect a Missed Cancer Diagnosis?
If you or a loved one believes that a cancer diagnosis was delayed, start by seeking a second opinion. Find another doctor or specialist who can review your case and offer insight on whether earlier treatment may have made a difference. Next, request your medical records, including test results, doctor’s notes, and imaging reports. These may shed light on what was done and what wasn’t.
Next, document everything, including when the symptoms started, when you saw the doctor, what you told them, what they said, and any tests or treatments you went through. These details can be critical when trying to follow what happened.
Finally, talk to a medical malpractice attorney. We are experienced in cases like these and can help not only determine whether you have a case but also assist in gathering the medical evidence and expert testimony needed to build a strong case.
How a Medical Malpractice Attorney Can Help
At Shapiro, Washburn, and Sharp, we’ve helped people across Virginia and North Carolina find answers after medical mistakes. If you believe that a doctor failed to diagnose cancer and it changed the course of our treatment or your loved one’s life, contact us right away. We will help guide you through the process, as we did for a young client who suffered a serious medical event after her doctor failed to make a proper diagnosis. The case went to court, where the jury returned a $3.5 million verdict in favor of our client.
You can find our offices in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, and Chesapeake.
