New Jersey Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyer

Over 1 Million Cancer Cases Will Be Misdiagnosed

The American Cancer Society® estimates that over 1,600,000 new cancer cases will be diagnosed this year. Many more may potentially have cancer but never know or be diagnosed with the incorrect cancer.

The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore studied the tissue samples of 6,000 cancer patients and found 71 cases where their condition was misdiagnosed, meaning 1 out of 5 patients had their cancer misclassified.

The cancers most commonly misdiagnosed include:

• Lymphoma
• Breast Cancer
• Sarcomas
• Melanoma

Reasons Why Cancer Misdiagnosis Might Occur

• Misidentification of symptoms – One of the main reasons a doctor may not detect cancer or mislabel the condition for another disease is because they may not interpret the symptoms properly. For example, a woman may display signs of weakness and tiredness and be diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, when she actually as breast cancer.
• Fragmented patient medical history – In a Best Doctors® study, 38.5% of 400 doctors believed that fragmented medical records led to incorrectly diagnosing cancer. In such cases, it is important that doctors and hospital staff comprehensively look at a patient’s medical history and the probability of certain illnesses.
• Errors in lab test readings – A pathologist studies the body tissues and fluids to look for signs of abnormalities and unusual cell growth. However, they can misread the results, thus leading to an error in diagnosing. The pathologists also do not usually know the patient’s medical history, which can also make it more difficult to read the lab results.
• Not enough training in subspecialties – Cancer is a complicated, intricate condition. Its many subcategories can be difficult to detect or analyze. Often, doctors have specialized training in subsections of cancer. Because not all doctors are comprehensively educated in subspecialties, they may overlook important information.

When Is Failure to Diagnose Cancer Considered Malpractice?

Cancer remains a leading cause of death in America, but there are a variety of effective treatments and interventions that can help patients beat their cancers. However, the efficacy of these treatments is often dependent on being able to detect cancer and intervene in its earliest stages.

For patients with cancer who believe a medical provider failed to diagnose cancer, failed to timely treat cancer, or otherwise made a mistake in misdiagnosing cancer as another condition, the right to recover financially in a medical malpractice lawsuit will depend on the specific facts of your case.

Although medical malpractice claims need to be reviewed by experienced attorneys before any assessment about its merits is made, all victims will need to prove that they suffered harm because of medical negligence. Generally, medical negligence is defined as a health care provider’s failure to act as a reasonably skilled and trained provider would act under the same or similar circumstances.