Maryland Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyer

The legal experts at Belsky, Weinberg and Horowitz have had much success handling medical malpractice cases in Baltimore and throughout Maryland. Our firm has successfully handled medical malpractice cases such as Cerebral Palsy, Erb's Palsy, Surgical Errors, Brachial Plexus and Cancer Misdiagnosis. If you have questions, please contact our legal team by filling out our contact form or calling us toll free 800-895-5333.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 15.8 million people have been diagnosed with cancer, with an estimated 565,650 resulting in death in 2008. According to a study at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, upwards of 12% of U.S. cancer patients are initially misdiagnosed. While a diagnosis of cancer can be devastating, a misdiagnosis, resulting in delayed treatment and the possibility of death due to the misdiagnosis is unimaginable.

The most common lawsuits involving misdiagnosis in order of prevalence are heart conditions, breast cancer, appendicitis, lung cancer and colon cancer. Notably three of the five most misdiagnosed are cancers, with the most common diagnosis being failure to diagnose. While other illnesses are often misdiagnosed, these diseases take the lead as the misdiagnosis most rapidly leading to severe illness or death. The highest estimated death rate in order is lung cancer, breast, colon and pancreas. The question is how many of these could be prevented due to correct diagnosis. The Journal of the National Cancer Institute conducted a recent study showing that 71% of the time physicians failed to identify breast cancer, yet other specialized physicians were highly accurate with an error rate of 3%. According to the study, volume of experience and degree of specialization played a major role in the diagnosis being accurate. As an example, a physician highly experienced in mammography, understanding increased sensitivity and willingness to explain to the patient the reason for increased compression is shown to have a much higher detection ratio.

With the high cost of insurance and insurance regulations, physicians may not always make a prompt diagnosis or referral to the proper specialist. Shortage of staff, long hours and stress along with finding that the average time physicians spend with a patient is 15 minutes do not add up in the patients favor. Due to these inconsistencies, misdiagnosis can happen for a number of different reasons:

A malignant tumor is misdiagnosed as benign, or vice versa
A clear diagnosis is made when there is actually cancer present, leading to a delay in treatment
Labs are not handled correctly, misread or misinterpreted
Patients who are cancer risks are not routinely screened
A cancerous lesion is missed in a biopsy
Aggressiveness of a tumor is misdiagnosed
Failure to fully listen and understand a patients complaints

Misdiagnosis can be absolutely devastating to a patient and their family, let alone the deadly consequences. Early diagnosis is a major factor in the outcome of most cancers. If you feel that you have been affected by a misdiagnosis of cancer you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to consult a legal professional experienced in handling cases such as these.

What is Cancer?

Cancer is caused by abnormal overgrowth of cells. Typically these cells clump together and form tumors, they may be dispersed into the blood stream, or into the lymphatic system. As technology advances the diagnosis of cancer has improved and treatments for cancer have also improved significantly. With advanced detection methods and treatments survival rates for cancer has dramatically increased. However cancer is the 2nd top cause of death in the USA. Misdiagnosis of cancer is not common because physical and health care professionals usually will perform comprehensive diagnostic testing if cancer is even a possibility.

With any adverse medical outcome there is always the suspicion that malpractice has occurred. This is frequently the case when a biopsy missed the cancerous lesion the biopsy was intended to detect. Two areas where this occurs with regularity are breast cancer and prostate cancer. The most important reason that this occurs is the fact that breast and prostate cancer are common malignancies.

When the suspicion of a malignancy arises then a biopsy is done to prove or disprove the presence of cancer. In the case of the breast the suspicion is in the form of an abnormal finding on a mammogram or X-ray of the breast. Often a sonogram is use to confirm and further identify this abnormality and both the mammogram and the sonogram are used to localize the lesion for biopsy. Any solid lesion of the breast should be biopsied no matter how benign it appears on the mammogram or sonogram. Many times the area being biopsied will have calcifications in it. To make sure the area has been properly biopsied the calcifications should be present in the biopsy specimen. With a large area such as the breast, the area of cancer can be missed if proper steps are not taken to assure that the lesion detected is the area that was sampled on the biopsy.

In the case of prostate cancer the need for a biopsy is typically determined by an elevated or rising prostate specific antigen (PSA). Prostate biopsies are guided by transrectal sonography but specific lesions in the prostate may not be visible. For this reason multiple biopsies must be obtained to assure adequate sampling of the prostate. A minimum of seven separate biopsies should be preformed with many experts in the field recommending up to fifteen for better diagnostic accuracy. If cancer is not found in the biopsy specimens then close follow up with rebiopsy is recommended.

Once the biopsies have been taken in both breast and prostate case consultation with the pathologist reading the specimens is important to the overall treatment of the patient. If the biopsy was from the area of the cancer but did not specifically detect cancer cells there maybe other findings that are suspicious for a malignancy in the adjacent tissue. The relief of a negative biopsy many be the solution that every patient desires. Yet care must be taken to assure the biopsy has not missed the cancer.

Common causes of cancer misdiagnosis:

A malignant tumor is misdiagnosed as benign
Cancerous lesions is missed
Failure to refer a patient to specialist
Specimens are mishandled
Hospital or physician error
Failure to follow up with patient
Failure to screen for increased risk patients
Failure to notice warning signs or symptoms

Types of cancer

Benign Tumor - Non-cancerous tumor
Malignant - Cancerous tumors
Metastatic - Spreading of cancer beyond its initial site to lymph nodes and other body areas.

Cancer type by type of tumor

Sarcoma
Leukemia
Lymphoma
Myeloma
Melanoma
Adenoma

Cancer type by common locations:

More types of cancer:

Choriocarcinoma
Gastrinoma
Pheochromocytoma
Prolactinoma
Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma
Neuroma
Von Hippel-Lindau Disease
Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
Adrenal Cancer
Anal Cancer
Bile Duct Cancer
Bladder Cancer
Ureter cancer
Brain cancer
Oligodendroglioma
Neuroblastoma
Meningioma
Spinal Cord Tumor
Bone cancer
Osteochondroma
Chondrosarcoma
Ewing's sarcoma
Cancer of Unknown Primary Site
Carcinoid
Carcinoid of Gastrointestinal Tract
Fibrosarcoma
Breast Cancer
Paget's Disease
Cervical Cancer
Colorectal cancer
Rectal cancer
Esophagus Cancer
Gall Bladder Cancer
Head Cancer
Eye cancer
Neck Cancer
Kidney Cancer

Wilms' tumor
Liver cancer
Kaposi's Sarcoma
Prostate Cancer
Lung cancer
Testicular Cancer
Hodgkin's Disease
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Oral cancer
Skin Cancer
Mesothelioma
Multiple Myeloma
Ovarian Cancer
Endocrine pancreatic cancer
Glucagonoma
Pancreatic cancer
Parathyroid Cancer
Penis Cancer
Pituitary Cancer
Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Retinoblastoma
Small Intestine Cancer
Stomach cancer
Thymus Cancer
Thyroid cancer
Trophoblastic Cancer
Hydatidiform mole
Uterine Cancer
Endometrial Cancer
Vagina cancer
Vulva cancer
Acoustic Neurinoma
Mycosis fungoides
Insulinoma
Carcinoid syndrome
Somatostatinoma

Breast Cancer is the most common cancer in women, affecting 10% of women. Misdiagnosing breast cancer can cause devastating effects to the patient and their loved ones. Early detection is extremely important in the battle of fighting cancer.

Misdiagnosis of cancer is extremely hard on the patient. Treatments that may have been less severe are now more aggressive, harmful and more expensive. These types of mistakes are life threatening. Everyone makes mistakes but what happens when a mistake is made due to negligence? That is when our attorneys come in and fight for your rights.

What makes a doctor negligent?

This is a question that requires an expert that knows the ins and outs of diagnosis and medical malpractice. The average person would not know if a doctor truly was negligent or had no way of knowing. If you think you or someone you care about has been a victim of medical malpractice, contact our law office for a free case evaluation and learn how we may be able to help your family. Our law firm specializes in medical malpractice cases, but what exactly does that mean? Medical malpractice cases are much more involved than other types of personal injury cases. In any type of personal injury case you must prove fault. You must prove the the doctor or medical staff did not show the proper level of care. It must be prove that their actions were not acceptable and they faulted either purposely or on accident. That's where our lawyers experience comes in. We have the knowledge ourselves and we also use outside medical experts to help prove that negligence did or did not take place. Don't trust your case with a law firm before knowing the facts. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.

We read of medical malpractice in the media nearly everyday. It has become common place. It is a great shame that such occurrences happen but unfortunately for the victims it is their reality. Thankfully measures can be taken to get the necessary help both medical and legal. Medical malpractice is a physician's failure to perform his job with caution and care as a competent practitioner in the same or similar specialization. In the case of a physician it is often his oversight or inability to properly diagnose a medical condition which is most times glaringly obvious.

We acknowledge that no one is perfect and quickly defend that the doctors who do genuinely exercise their better judgment in undertaking their role by carefully diagnosing illnesses or making recommendations for the patient to be seen by another practitioner for a second opinion is rightly doing what he should do. It is for this reason we maintain that in such circumstances they cannot be held liable if they have done all in their power to help. On the otherhand where the doctor fails to treat a patient and the patient in turn suffers an injury from his oversight a claim can be levied against them.

In the instance where the patient is thought of as a cancer risk and nothing was done to ensure proper screening the patient when making their claim has to prove that there was in fact a deviation from the standard of care. This measure requires another doctor reviewing the patients existing file and coming to the conclusion that the doctor did indeed fail to do what was expected of him. This includes but is not limited to misinterpretation of test results, errors and so forth. Secondly the patient has to prove that the deviation in one way or another prevented or gravely increased his opportunity to beat the cancer or causing additional pain and suffering. Again evidence of all this would be found in patient records, test results , in the doctors notes from patient visits.

By virtue of the the patient being thought of as a cancer risk and not be treated properly for it is more than enough for legal action to be taken. If you find that you are in this position and need more information give us a call. We are here to help and point you in the right direction in making your claim.

Lack of Communication

Everyone on the planet who has or ever had a job has made a mistake in his or her work life. However, when a doctor makes a mistake the consequences can be far reaching and dangerous and even injurious to your body or health. The consequences can be long-term, irreversible and cost you in enormous ways in your life, your ability to earn a living or care for your loved ones.

Perhaps you have communicated a lot with your physician but you feel that he or she has not heard you completely and has not treated you in the best way for resolution of your medical concerns.

This is not an unusual scenario. Doctors are just like everyone else with all of the stresses of their very busy and exacting lives. Not only do they have their own concerns, they have yours at heart too and this can cause them such enormous stress that they become overloaded and then miss something critical to your case. You know in your circumstances exactly what happened and we are here to hear your side of the story.

When doctors take their oaths they promise to heal or "at least do no harm". Sometimes doctors do harm their patients even if unintentionally. Sometimes they are being pressured by drug company representatives to try new very expensive drugs on patients so they can build up histories of how the drugs work.Sometimes these drugs are extremely dangerous in themselves and can cause death even when administered correctly and monitored correctly. Doctors are also under tremendous pressure to try certain techniques or treatments on patients to try out very expensive medical equipment. In the same way some of these treatments or techniques can be seriously dangerous or life-threatening.

Operating rooms can be very dangerous places as well and hospitals have been known to slip up on equipment or material being left in patients during surgeries.

If you or someone in your family has been seriously harmed by a doctor, medical staff, or from medications that turned out to be too dangerous for you, please give us a call. We are here to listen to you and to take action when it is deemed to be the right thing to do. You do have someone to represent you in your concerns.

The information you provide is held in absolute privacy and strictest confidence and is shared only with the attorneys that will be working on your concerns. Our office works on a contingency basis meaning that we only get paid when you do, so there are no costs for our investigation fees.

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