Was Your Cancer Misdiagnosed?

Was Your Cancer Misdiagnosed?

Was Your Cancer Misdiagnosed?

Cancer is a dangerous and frightening disease, but if you are afflicted with cancer and your doctor misdiagnosed it, a dire situation can grow even worse. If you’re ill, you trust your doctor to steer you on the path toward recovery. A misdiagnosis, on the other hand, can allow your cancer to dangerously progress—while remaining untreated. Not every misdiagnosis in Virginia, however, amounts to medical malpractice, and it’s important to understand the basics of misdiagnosis claims.

Diagnosing Cancer

Because the early detection of cancer is closely related to improved survival rates, any delay in a cancer diagnosis is serious. A 2014 study in The British Medical Journal estimates that medical professionals misdiagnose about 12 million adults in the United States each year, and that about half of these misdiagnoses are potentially harmful. Simply misdiagnosing or missing your cancer in the early stages of the disease, however, doesn’t constitute a medical malpractice claim in Virginia. To bring a claim for medical malpractice, your doctor (or medical team) must have veered away from the standard of care that’s commonly practiced by the medical community. In other words, it’s not medical malpractice unless your cancer was misdiagnosed because your doctor didn’t follow accepted medical best practices.

Misdiagnosis and Harm

Every case of cancer is unique, and as such, diagnosis isn’t always straightforward. In addition, not every cancer misdiagnosis significantly harms the patient’s health, physical outcome, or condition. To bring a successful medical malpractice claim for a cancer misdiagnosis in Virginia, you must illustrate that the medical professional’s deviation from accepted standards of medical care either caused you harm or worsened your condition. One important element of this calculation is the length of time that elapses between the misdiagnosis and accurate diagnosis of your condition.

The Role of Medical Experts

Medical malpractice cases are notoriously complicated, but they are also important claims. If you were harmed by a medical professional’s negligence, your just compensation matters, and that’s where medical experts come in. To bring a successful cancer misdiagnosis claim in Virginia, you must establish that your doctor didn’t follow accepted medical diagnostic protocols and that this deviation from medical norms harmed you. It takes a medical expert to determine and to succinctly illustrate these elemental factors of a successful medical malpractice claim.

If Your Cancer Went Undiagnosed, Contact an Experienced Richmond Medical Malpractice Lawyer Today

Cancer is a frightening disease, and no one wants to receive that diagnosis. If you have cancer, however, and it’s not diagnosed or is misdiagnosed, including misdiagnosis of breast cancer and misread mammograms, your condition can become even more dangerous and frightening. Your health is crucial to your ability to live your life to the fullest, and the skilled legal team at Emroch & Kilduff is here to help. We understand how a cancer misdiagnosis can devastate you and your family, and we have the experience, expertise, and compassion to help guide your claim toward its best possible resolution. To speak with a knowledgeable medical malpractice attorney with experience in cancer misdiagnosis claims, contact or call us at (804) 358-1568 today for an initial consultation.