Published by Arfaa Law Group
Cancer is the dreaded ‘c’ word that no patient wants to hear. If caught early enough, patients can often beat cancer and resume their normal lives. If it is not diagnosed in a timely manner, however, the consequences can be devastating. If you or someone close to you was harmed due to a physician’s failure to diagnose cancer, it is imperative to reach out to a skilled Baltimore misdiagnosis attorney who can assess the merits of your case.
A Baltimore jury recently awarded a hefty damages sum to the family of a man who died of colon cancer after his primary care physician failed to follow up on an unexplained case of anemia, which the family claims could have led to an earlier cancer diagnosis. The 55-year-old patient died from colon cancer 15 months after it was finally diagnosed.
The case at hand would be considered a ‘failure to diagnose’ case. A failure to diagnose is when a doctor misses the connection between a patient’s symptoms and their medical condition. The result is that no diagnosis is made, and the patient takes no course of treatment. A physician’s failure to diagnose can lead to further injuries and even death to a patient. According to a report released by the Institute of Medicine, most Americans will get a late or wrong diagnosis at least once in their lives.
Proving negligence is at the center of every Maryland medical malpractice case. Medical malpractice occurs when a physician causes an injury or death by failing to adhere to the appropriate standard of care. The standard of care refers to the level of care that a prudent medical professional in the same specialty would have used under the same or similar circumstances. It is difficult to pinpoint an exact standard of care because it is case-specific and depends on a number of factors, including the patient’s medical condition, the patient’s age, the patient’s medical history, and the health care provider’s specialty.
Here, the plaintiffs alleged that the patient’s primary care physician breached the standard of care by failing to follow up on the cause of the man’s anemia, which was revealed after blood work was conducted in 2011. The plaintiffs argued that if the physician had followed up and investigated the cause of the anemia, his colon cancer would have been diagnosed much earlier and could have been treated accordingly. In other words, if the cause of the anemia had been scrutinized, his colon cancer could have been caught before it progressed to stage 4. An earlier diagnosis could have resulted in a better outcome for the cancer patient.
If you or someone you love has suffered harm due to a missed diagnosis of cancer, it is critical to speak to a seasoned Baltimore cancer misdiagnosis attorney who can help. At Arfaa Law Group, we are committed to holding negligent medical professionals accountable for the harm that they cause and helping you pursue the compensation you deserve. To discuss your case with one of our attorneys, call 410-889-1850 or contact us online.
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What Constitutes an Allegation of Medical Malpractice in Maryland
Medical Overtreatment is a Dangerous Reality in the United States