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MISDIAGNOSING CANCER

Medical Malpractice and Hospital Negligence Attorney Represents Injured Plaintiffs Nationwide
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Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyer

investigating delayed diagnosis & failure to diagnose cases

In a national study, more than 20 percent of cancer patients who sought a second opinion at an advanced medical institution had been first misdiagnosed by their primary care providers.

Only a small portion of cancer patients who visited the Mayo Clinic for a second opinion had received the exact same initial diagnosis. Cancer diagnosis discrepancies are rather alarming, considering about 1.3 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer each year.

Cancer misdiagnosis can come about in different ways, including a diagnosis of cancer when that person in fact does not have cancer; a delay in diagnosing cancer, which is concerning in fast progressing cancers; and a misclassified cancer.

A Diagnostic Error, a wrong diagnosis of cancer (a false positive), and misclassified cancer can each be considered medical malpractice and may be grounds for cancer misdiagnosis lawsuits.

Joe Lyon is a highly-rated Medical Malpractice Lawyer and Hospital Negligence Attorney reviewing plaintiffs’ cancer cases and handling cancer misdiagnosis lawsuits.

Common Types of Misdiagnosed Cancer

It happens far more often than it should: patients are diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, long after they have showed symptoms, and physicians and medical professionals failed to diagnose cancer. Then, it is a tougher battle, if it isn’t too late. Common types of delayed diagnosis cases and misdiagnosed cancer lawsuits involve the following:

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ABOUT THE LYON FIRM

Joseph Lyon has 17 years of experience representing individuals in complex litigation matters. He has represented individuals in every state against many of the largest companies in the world.

The Firm focuses on single-event civil cases and class actions involving corporate neglect & fraud, toxic exposure, product defects & recalls, medical malpractice, and invasion of privacy.

NO COST UNLESS WE WIN

The Firm offers contingency fees, advancing all costs of the litigation, and accepting the full financial risk, allowing our clients full access to the legal system while reducing the financial stress while they focus on their healthcare and financial needs.

Delayed Cancer Diagnosis

A doctor has a duty to suspect the worst outcomes in a medical observation, and although of course not every test should be administered–driving up medical costs–they should be cautious and protect patients.

To give a patient the best chance to beat cancer, it is critical to detect cancer cells early, before the cancer metastasizes and spreads to other areas of the body. Delayed cancer diagnosis and cancer misdiagnosis cases usually will be investigated, and in almost every case the doctor either failed to diagnoses cancer due to a lack of caution, or the hospital failed to adhere to basic medical standards.

Medical records will be obtained and reviewed by The Lyon Firm and medical experts, and we can determine the root cause the failure to diagnose negligence. Doctors may fail to perform tests due to their own arrogance, or the tests themselves may have been faulty or lost in the hospital registers.

Laboratory malpractice is more common than previously thought. A hospital lab can perform the wrong test ordered, they can perform an ineffective test, can mishandle biopsies, and can mislabel test results, resulting in false negatives and other incorrect results.

Cancer Medical Malpractice

When there is a suspicion of cancer through symptoms, a routine physical examination, or the specific results of cancer screening and laboratory tests, it is a medical professional’s responsibility to do everything to make a correct diagnosis. Cancer may be misdiagnosed in different ways, including:

  • A failure to perform a thorough physical exam
  • A failure to consult medical and health history
  • Failure to follow up or communicate with patient
  • Failure to recognize cancer signs and symptoms
  • Failure to recommend or offer cancer screening and lab tests
  • Improper interpretation of radiological or laboratory tests
  • Failure to contact or refer patient to appropriate specialists
  • Communication breakdown between doctors and medical staff

Failure To Diagnose Cancer Lawsuits

Failure to diagnose cancer cases are unique because every cancer case is different. A patient’s body reacts differently, and although there are usually similar symptoms and tell-tale signs of cancer, each cancer case needs to be treated with the utmost care.

With all of the modern diagnostic tools available in medicine, including Radiology Errors (X-rays, CT scans, MRI scans), blood tests and biopsies, it seems unlikely that cancer can go undetected or misdiagnosed. One problem is many illnesses look alike and present similar symptoms.

Lab technicians analyzing tissue may also wrongly identify the type of cancer cell, since cancer cells can look similar to others. X-rays and scans can also be read incorrectly. A delayed diagnosis will surely lead to delayed treatment and a worse cancer prognosis.

Researchers at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore reviewed tissue samples from 6,000 cancer patients across the country, and found one out of every 71 cases was misdiagnosed. As a result, victims of medical malpractice have filed cancer misdiagnosis lawsuits against those responsible for preventable mistakes.

Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawsuits

Diagnosing cancer has never been the easiest task for even experts. But hospital negligence raises the risk of cancers going untreated or delays in treatment when mistakes are made. In 2015, the National Academy of Medicine reported that most people will receive an incorrect or late diagnosis at least once in their lives. That could mean a premature wrongful death in many cancer cases.

The failure to diagnose cancer has become a serious medical issue in American society and in the medical industry. The cost of a failure to diagnose cancer can be a patient’s life, and there is no excuse for medical malpractice when doctor and hospital have every tool at their disposal.

Radiology or pathology negligence can easily result in a failure to diagnose cancer, and lead to wrongful death. Most doctors will act professionally and administer the proper tests. But there will also be negligent doctors that fail in their duties and a patient can take legal action.

Medical standards exist for a reason, and when a doctor and a medical team fails to adhere to protocol and fails to diagnose cancer, they may be held liable in medical malpractice and delayed diagnosis lawsuits.

photo of attorney Joe Lyon reviewing cancer misdiagnosis cases
A Voice for Those who have suffered

Why are these cases important?

 When management or individuals fail to provide a sufficient level of care, victims may seek legal recourse and file suit against the negligent parties. Medical malpractice lawsuits improve the quality of healthcare by holding physicians and hospitals responsible when they fall below a professional standard of care. 

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Questions about Medical Malpractice

What is a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?

Hospitals, medical staff, nurses and doctors are responsible for providing proper patient care. When management or individuals fail to provide a sufficient level of care, victims may seek legal recourse and file suit against the negligent parties.

Without medical malpractice laws, medical mistakes would go without consequence, patients would be uncompensated for preventable injuries, and medical providers would have less incentive to improve the medical system to prevent future injuries.

Despite the reports discussed above, frivolous claims brought by medical malpractice attorneys and runaway juries have been blamed as causing a medical crisis. There is no medical malpractice crisis, it is simply propaganda created by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and large insurance companies to pollute the American jury pool and change the law in a manner that is favorable to them and adverse to the average American. And sadly, it has worked.

Currently, 90 percent of juries side with the physician over the patient at trial. As a result, insurance companies are bolder than ever and refuse at times to settle even the most meritorious of cases knowing that the chances of the patient finding a fair and impartial jury is extremely low, especially in more conservative parties of the country such as Hamilton County, Ohio.

What is a “Never Event” in Hospital Care ?

The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 required that conditions be identified that (a) are costly and occur at high rates, (b) are assigned as cases to the Diagnosis-Related Group, and (c) could have ultimately been prevented with appropriate care. These hospital-acquired conditions occur as negligence on the part of hospital staff and often result in a multitude of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Conditions that meet the three requirements for identification:

What if a hospital makes me an offer directly?

Many hospitals and physicians are taking proactive approaches to resolve viable medical malpractice claims by approaching patients who do not have legal counsel. The “family meeting” presentation will include deterring patients from seeking legal counsel. This is a very concerning development in the course of medical liability and risk management.

We strongly advise patients not to engage in “family meeting” settlement negotiations without an experienced Cincinnati medical malpractice lawyer present. Hospitals and physicians have lawyers who are specialized in medical malpractice claims advising them on how to approach the case, and it is only fair that the patient is afforded the same benefit of qualified counsel.

The “family meeting” practice of settling hospital negligence cases without an attorney does not benefit the patient in most cases, but almost always benefits the negligent hospital.

Do not be deterred by a hospital representative implying that the case will be compromised if you seek counsel. While attorney fees will need to be paid, those costs should not be a deterrent. The Lyon Firm adopts a lower contingency fee structure and offers hourly rates for cases that can be resolved without litigation.

If the parties wish to resolve the matter, having qualified counsel on both sides is beneficial to the process. The goal should be a settlement where both parties are satisfied, not a case where the hospital pays substantially less than the fair value of the claim.

There are numerous issues that need to be considered before settling a medical malpractice case, and you should know what the fair value of the claim is before accepting a settlement.

The hospital knows the fair value having been involved in other cases. You as the patient should work with counsel who has successfully worked on other cases and can advise on the appropriate risk of future litigation and settlement value.

If a hospital is approaching you or a family member about a settlement without a Cincinnati Medical Malpractice lawyer, please call (800) 513-2403 for a free consultation.

Why hire the Lyon Firm?

Our Firm will help you find the answers.  The Firm has the experience, resources and dedication to take on difficult and emotional cases and help our clients obtain the justice for the wrong they have suffered. 

 Experience:  Joe Lyon is an experienced Cincinnati Medical Malpractice Lawyer. The Lyon Firm has 17 years of experience and success representing individuals and plaintiffs in all fifty states, and in a variety of complex civil litigation matters. Medical malpractice lawsuits can be complex and require industry experts to determine the root cause of an accident or injury. Mr. Lyon has worked with experts nationwide to assist individuals understand why an injury occurred and what can be done to improve their lives in the future. Some cases may go to a jury trial, though many others can be settled out of court.

Resources/Dedication: Mr. Lyon has worked with experts in the fields of accident reconstruction, biomechanics, epidemiology, metallurgy, pharmacology, toxicology, human factors, workplace safety, life care planning, economics, and virtually every medical discipline in successfully representing Plaintiffs across numerous areas of law. The Lyon Firm is dedicated to building the strongest cases possible for clients and their critical interests.

Results:  Mr. Lyon has obtained numerous seven and six figure results in personal injury,  automotive product liability, medical Negligence, construction accidents, and auto dealership negligence cases.  The cases have involved successfully litigating against some of  the largest companies in the world

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Learn About the Medical Malpractice Legal Process

Video: Investigating Medical Malpractice

The process for investigating a medical malpractice claims involves the following steps: 

  1. Gather a full and informed history from the family addressing their concerns and thoughts on what went wrong; 
  2. Gather the complete medical records including film studies, if any; 
  3. Review of the records and applicable medical literature by attorneys; 
  4. Review of the records by a qualified physician practicing in the relevant areas on standard of care and causation; 
  5. Final consultation with expert to review opinions;
  6. Signing of Affidavit of Merit by the Expert before case filing, for cases where medical malpractice is identified. 
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Our Victories

The Lyon Firm aggressively, professionally, and passionately advocates for injured individuals and families against companies due to a defective product or recalled product to obtain just compensation under the law. 

FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE BOWEL OBSTRUCTION

WRONGFUL DEATH

(Cincinnati, Ohio):  Confidential settlement for a family due to a wrongful death. An emergency room physician failed to recognize the common symptoms associated with bowel obstruction and prescribed a contraindicated medicine of GoLytley.  The patient died at home the day of discharge after taking the medication. The case against the emergency room physician was resolved by settlement following extensive discovery. The settlement was paid to the spouse and surviving adult children for the loss of their mother. While no amount of money could bring back their mother, the case provided answers and held the hospital accountable.

FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE BREAST CANCER

$910,000 Settlement.

(Cincinnati, Ohio):   Joe Lyon was second chair in a case involving the failure of a physician to promptly communicate a positive breast cancer result to a patient. As a result of the delay, the cancer progressed from in situ carcinoma to stage 3B with lymph node involvement. The treatment required mastectomy and radiation/ chemotherapy rather than a simple excision. The case settled after extensive discovery. The defense argued: “the patient should have called the physician.” The settlement provided recovery for suffering through a misdiagnosis and the loss of a spouse and a mother. While the settlement cannot bring this wonderful woman back, it helped her family move forward with life’s challenges and encouraged  future accountability.

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