Cancer Misdiagnosis and Reoccurrence Rate: New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer Explains

Damages from a Cancer Misdiagnosis Include Reoccurrence Rate, an Often Missed Type of Damage: New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer Explains

Cancer misdiagnosis cases are some of the hardest types of New York medical malpractice cases.  While the procedural requirements were made easier by Lavern’s Law, allowing victims additional time to commence an action in certain circumstances, just proving a cancer misdiagnosis case is very hard for any New York medical malpractice lawyer.  Some of the inherent difficulties in a cancer misdiagnosis case include:

• Proving when the cancer was or should have been detected;
• Proving the difference in treating the cancer at the time it should have been detected and treated, versus when the cancer was actually detected and treated;
• Establishing lost wages and lost earnings, particularly lost wages or earnings which were caused by the misdiagnosis and would not have been normally endured (i.e., if detected on time it would result in 1 month of chemo and missed work, versus failing to detect resulted in 2 months of chemo and missed work);
• Damages for pain and suffering which were caused by the misdiagnosis as opposed to the cancer in general; and
• If the patient fully recovered and is in remission, what are the damages?!

These factors are very important factors to be cognizant of because they can really limit your medical malpractice case, damages, and even allow a defendant-healthcare provider to escape liability.

However, reoccurrence rate is a type of damage that some inexperienced medical malpractice lawyers fail to consider.  This is because it can be difficult to determine without an experienced and competent expert medical provider.  There are some providers in oncology who just work with quality of life issues and know how the reoccurrence rates will work with certain cancers based on accepted literature.

The reason is that, even if a patient is successfully treated for cancer after a misdiagnosis, thus the damages are nothing different than if the cancer was timely treated, a patient will still have a higher risk of reoccurrence.  The longer that the cancer exists in the body, the longer it has to leave a blueprint for future restarts.  Now only this, but the reoccurrence is likely to be significantly worse and more likely to cause death.

For example, if a patient is timely treated for cancer he may only have a 20% chance of reoccurrence with a 10% chance of death.  But if the cancer was misdiagnosed and not detected or treated for two years, the patient may be completely cured but now have a 60% chance of reoccurrence with an 85% chance of death.  This is a significantly higher risk that a patient may be entitled to damages for that most do not realize.

But what do you think?  I would love to hear from you!  Leave a comment or I also welcome your phone call on my toll-free cell at 1-866-889-6882 or you can drop me an e-mail at jfisher@fishermalpracticelaw.com.  You are always welcome to request my FREE book, The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims, at the home page of my website at www.protectingpatientrights.com.