Atlanta Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyers

Was Your Cancer Missed or Diagnosed Too Late?

Death by cancer is not inevitable. Many common types of cancers are readily treatable if detected soon enough. The critical window for detecting cancer is often narrow, but early detection and diagnosis can make the difference between life and death.

Recent Delayed Cancer Diagnosis Verdicts and Settlements

• Confidential Settlement - Failure to diagnose breast cancer significantly affecting the patient's prognosis.

Click here for more verdicts and settlements.

If you have lost someone to cancer, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• Could the cancer have been treated if it was diagnosed earlier?
• Did the treating physician provide a mistaken diagnosis?
• Was the death avoidable, if not for the physician’s failure to detect the cancer in time?

If your answer to these questions was yes, contact the experienced Atlanta personal injury attorneys at Grant Law Office immediately, because you may have a viable medical malpractice claim against the treating physician and hospital. For more information about failure to diagnose cancer claims and your legal options, call us today at (404) 995-3955.

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We Have Successfully Handled Many Failure to Diagnose Cancer Cases

Our legal team has decades of combined experience representing claimants who have been injured or lost loved ones as the result of medical malpractice involving cancer diagnosis, including cases involving:

• Lung cancer
• Colon cancer
• Cervical cancer
• Breast cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Leukemia
• Lymphoma
• Other common cancers

We have recovered millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts on behalf of our clients. Let us put our experience to work for you and your family. With our help, you may obtain the compensation you need to secure financial stability for the foreseeable future.

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Could the Cancer Have Been Discovered Sooner?

When it comes to fighting cancer, early diagnosis is vital. Many types of cancer are treatable when discovered in their earlier stages. A competent physician should be able to notice early signs or risk factors of cancer and order the appropriate diagnostic tests. Failure to do so is grounds for a medical malpractice claim.

A delayed diagnosis can occur for several reasons. Some of the most common reasons include the following:

• The initial screening did not reveal cancer, and the doctor chose not to re-screen despite ongoing or worsening symptoms that would call for a re-screening.
• The doctor assumed that the patient's symptoms had a cause other than cancer, and therefore did not check for cancer.
• One or more symptoms were treated as if they were the whole condition. For instance, a doctor might treat a patient with anemia as if he or she only has anemia, without checking whether an underlying condition like cancer was causing the anemia.
• The doctor relied on less-than-definitive test results. For example, a doctor might assume that mammogram images don't reveal cancer, instead of ordering a biopsy to check unclear or suspicious-looking areas in the mammogram images.
• Tests were performed or interpreted incorrectly. For example, a biopsy that comes back with "normal" results may have been read incorrectly, skipping cancerous or pre-cancerous cells evident in the sample.

Not every situation that delays a cancer diagnosis rises to the level of medical malpractice. However, situations that fall below the standard of care may involve malpractice.

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"Loss of Chance" Doctrine in Georgia

Georgia is one of several states whose courts have adopted the "loss of chance" doctrine. Under traditional medical malpractice rules, a doctor may only be held liable for a patient's death due to malpractice if the doctor's malpractice was a "substantial" factor in the patient's death. Under the "loss of chance" doctrine, the family of a patient whose chances of survival dropped due to a delayed diagnosis may hold the medical professional liable for the lost chance, even if the delayed diagnosis was not a "substantial" factor in the patient's death. The rule improves the chances that the victim’s family will receive compensation, because it factors in the loss of life that resulted from the delay.

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Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations for medical malpractice in Georgia is two years from the date of injury. However, there is also what’s known as a “statute of repose,” which is five years. This is important in cancer cases, because the physician’s error may not be apparent right away. For example, a patient goes to a doctor, complaining of stomach pain. The doctor doesn’t order any tests, just treats the patient for an ulcer. Three years later, the patient dies from stomach cancer. The patient’s family could sue the doctor, because he should have discovered the cancer when the patient initially visited him and the lawsuit is within the five-year statute of repose.

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Atlanta Failure to Diagnose Cancer Attorneys Offering Free Consultations

The day you or someone you love receives a cancer diagnosis is the day your world changes forever. You enter a world of biopsies, radiation, chemotherapy, and endless doctor and hospital visits. You may begin counting the time you have left with your loved ones in months instead of years.

The earlier cancerous or pre-cancerous cells are identified, the better the chances of extending life or eliminating the cancer entirely. When a cancer diagnosis is missed or delayed due to negligence, precious time is lost. The treatments that remain available may be more invasive, causing additional pain and suffering. If you've suffered due to a delayed cancer diagnosis, please don't hesitate to schedule a free consultation with one of our excellent Atlanta cancer misdiagnosis attorneys. Please call our office at (404) 995-3955.

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Related Case Result

Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer / Medical Malpractice action against prominent HMO - Our client’s breast cancer diagnosis was made after a 14-month delay. During that time, the cancer spread to 22/22 lymph nodes. Arguing that the initial scans revealed a mass that should have been subjected to biopsy, we were able to settle the case with a satisfactory result approximately one year after the lawsuit was filed.

Additional Information

• Dispelling Breast Cancer Myths
• The Dangers of Delayed Cancer Diagnosis in Georgia
• Cancer Staging - National Cancer Institute
• How Is Cancer Diagnosed?
• Diagnosis of Cancer - Merck Manual