Cancer Misdiagnosis

The Abelson Law Firm represents victims and their families who have been damaged by medical error and misdiagnosis. If you have been diagnosed with cancer which you feel should have been previously diagnosed, you may be the victim of medical malpractice.

With cancer, it is important to have an early diagnosis. Failure to diagnose cancer in its early stages, or a delay in diagnosing cancer until the cancer has reached an advanced stage has obviously serious consequences. A missed or delayed diagnosis of cancer is a common occurrence that can lead to spread of the cancer, causing disfiguring surgery, unnecessary chemotherapy and radiation therapy and, in some cases, death.

Untreated cancer can kill, and innocent mistakes can cause curable cancers to remain untreated and dangerous. A cancer misdiagnosis also has the potential to cause victims to develop other physical and psychological conditions that require future treatment – contributing to financial hardship and severely inhibiting the victims’ ability to sustain meaningful employment.

Cancer misdiagnosis can most frequently be attributed to:

• A non-cancerous (or benign) tumor is identified as malignant (cancerous).
• A cancerous lesion is missed in the biopsy procedure.
• A malignant mass is diagnosed as benign.
• Failure to refer a patient to a specialist for further testing.
• A malignant tumor is misclassified as to type or misgraded as to aggressiveness.
• Specimens are mishandled by pathology, or improperly read or interpreted.
• Failure to follow up with a patient if cancer should have been suspected.
• Failure to adequately screen for increased risk patients (age/ethnicity/family or personal history/gender).
• Failure to understand or notice the nature of a patient’s complaints.

If you or someone you know suffered serious health problems or death as a result of an erroneous cancer diagnosis, you may want to contact an attorney for a free evaluation of your case.

For a free claim evaluation and discussion of your legal options, please contact us today. Our attorneys handle cases in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Boston and Philadelphia.

If you feel you have experienced an error relating to your cancer, contact Abelson Law Firm. Our lawyers will aggressively pursue legal claims, and take on complex medical malpractice lawsuits involving large healthcare providers and their insurance companies.