Cancer misdiagnoses, such as breast cancer, lung cancer, or colon cancer, can have severe consequences, including delayed or inappropriate treatment, reduced survival rates, increased medical costs, and even wrongful death.
Therefore, patients and healthcare providers must be vigilant to ensure accurate diagnosis and treatment planning.
Early and accurate diagnosis remains one of the most important factors in survival. When healthcare providers miss warning signs, misinterpret test results, or delay follow-up care, patients can lose critical time for treatment. At Munley Law, we represent individuals and families harmed by preventable diagnostic errors. With almost 70 years of experience and a national reputation for excellence, we fight for accountability when medical professionals fail to meet the accepted standard of care.
We help clients in Scranton and throughout Lackawanna County understand their legal options, investigate what went wrong, and pursue compensation for the harm they have suffered. If you or a loved one has been harmed by the result of a missed diagnosis or wrong diagnosis, you might have a medical malpractice lawsuit. Talk to an experienced Scranton medical malpractice attorney at Munley Law today.
Call Us At 844-686-5397 How Do Cancer Misdiagnoses Happen in Scranton, PA?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cancer has been one of the top two leading causes of death in Americans for the last 75 years, and the American Cancer Society states that approximately 2 million new cancer cases and over 600,000 cancer deaths were projected in the US in 2025. These high numbers make cancer a significant health concern across the nation.
Given the prevalence of cancer, it’s not surprising that misdiagnosis occurs frequently. A study released by Johns Hopkins Hospital, after reviewing tissue samples from 6,000 cancer patients, found that one out of every 71 cases was misdiagnosed, and up to one out of five cancer cases were misclassified. Further, of all the medical misdiagnoses with the most severe consequences, including death, cancer accounted for nearly a full 40% of all medical misdiagnoses.
A cancer misdiagnosis can have serious, lasting, and possibly life-threatening repercussions for the patient. There can be several reasons this type of medical negligence can happen, including:
- Human Error: For example, pathologists may incorrectly interpret biopsy results, leading to a wrong diagnosis, or radiologists might misread imaging scans, such as X-rays, MRIs, or CT scans, and either miss signs of cancer or mistakenly identify non-cancerous conditions as cancerous.
- Inadequate Communication: Poor communication between doctors and patients can lead to misunderstandings about the patient’s symptoms and medical history. In addition, a lack of proper communication between different departments or specialists can result in incomplete or incorrect information being used for diagnosis.
- Incomplete Medical History: If a doctor cannot access a patient’s full medical history, they might miss significant risk factors or symptoms that could lead to an accurate diagnosis.
- Symptoms Overlap: Many cancers have symptoms that overlap with other, less serious conditions, making it easy for doctors to misdiagnose them as something else.
- Inadequate Testing: Sometimes, doctors may not order the necessary tests due to cost considerations, lack of resources, or oversight. Diagnostic tests themselves can sometimes produce inaccurate results, leading to a misdiagnosis.
- Failure to Follow Up: If doctors do not follow up on abnormal test results or patients’ ongoing symptoms, they might miss the opportunity to correct an initial misdiagnosis.
- Biased Diagnosis: Doctors may have biases based on patients’ age, gender, or other demographics, which can influence their diagnostic decisions and lead to misdiagnosis.
When Does a Cancer Misdiagnosis Become Medical Malpractice in Scranton?
When a healthcare provider fails to diagnose or misdiagnoses cancer, it isn’t always legally considered medical malpractice. To establish a case of malpractice, you must demonstrate several things, including:
- Doctor-Patient Relationship: You and the physician must have a clear, established relationship.
- Negligence in Duty: You must prove that the doctor was negligent in their responsibilities. For instance, if you reported a lump under your arm and the doctor neglected to perform a biopsy to check for cancer, this could be considered negligence.
- Injury Caused by Negligence: You must show that the doctor’s negligence directly harmed you. Continuing the example, if the untreated lump later turned out to be cancerous and spread, this harm would need to be linked to the doctor’s failure to act.
- Accepted Standard of Care: You must demonstrate that a competent doctor in the same specialty would not have made the same error. This involves proving one of two things:
- The correct diagnosis was not considered when it should have been: The doctor failed to conduct appropriate tests or seek specialist opinions that would have confirmed the diagnosis.
Your claim will depend upon proving that the harm to you or your loved one resulted from medical malpractice. Call a Scranton personal injury lawyer at Munley Law for more information. We work with leading medical experts to review records, identify deviations from accepted standards, and build strong malpractice claims.
“Honoring those who came before us, Munley Law proudly continues our family tradition of innovation, caring, and integrity. Three generations of Munleys have built this firm on one belief: that injured people deserve the same fierce advocacy that the powerful receive as a matter of course. That belief still drives everything we do.”
Caroline Munley
Types of Scranton Misdiagnosis Cases
Cancer misdiagnosis cases generally fall into three categories:
False Cancer Diagnosis
A false cancer diagnosis means that a doctor or other healthcare professional tells a patient who does not have cancer that they do. This type of medical misdiagnosis can lead to unpleasant, painful, costly, and unnecessary cancer treatments.
Patients suffer the sickness, pain, recovery, stress, and financial burden of a cancer diagnosis unnecessarily.
Missed Diagnosis
A missed diagnosis happens when a healthcare provider fails to recognize the presence of cancer altogether. Early detection of most types of cancers is essential to the well-being, even survival, of the patient. This type of misdiagnosis can lead to your cancer progressing to the point where it can no longer be treated.
Delayed Cancer Diagnosis
A delayed diagnosis occurs when a medical professional does not recognize and diagnose cancer due to misinterpreting tests or imaging, or fails to listen to the patient when they describe their symptoms, and refuses to order the necessary tests.
A delayed diagnosis can be as serious as a missed diagnosis of cancer because the disease can progress very quickly to advanced stages of disease. Any delay can have serious, even deadly, consequences.
How Can a Scranton Medical Malpractice Lawyer Help with a Cancer Misdiagnosis Claim?
Cancer misdiagnosis can lead to unnecessary pain, suffering, and, in severe cases, death. If you or a loved one has suffered from a cancer misdiagnosis by a Scranton healthcare provider, call the experienced cancer misdiagnosis attorneys at Munley Law today for your free consultation.
You might be entitled to financial compensation for your medical malpractice case.
Munley Law conducts independent investigations, consults with oncology and pathology experts, and gathers evidence to demonstrate how the error occurred. We prepare every case as if it will go to trial, which strengthens our negotiating position. Furthermore, we handle cases on a contingency fee basis – so you owe nothing unless we win your case.
We are a family firm and have served Pennsylvania families since 1959. We have achieved landmark verdicts and settlements and been nationally ranked by Best Lawyers and U.S. News & World Report for excellence in personal injury and medical malpractice litigation. The Medical Malpractice Trial Lawyers Association named Caroline Munley as one of the top 25 Medical Malpractice Trial Lawyers in Pennsylvania. Additionally, we have secured numerous multi-million-dollar recoveries for victims of medical errors, including a $3 million settlement for a woman misdiagnosed with cancer. We are nationally recognized for our trial excellence, with several of our attorneys named among the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Pennsylvania, and we have earned Lifetime Achievement honors for legal advocacy.
We combine compassionate representation with aggressive courtroom advocacy. When healthcare providers make preventable errors, we demand accountability.
What Damages Can Scranton Patients and Families Recover After a Cancer Misdiagnosis?
Pennsylvania law allows recovery for both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
- Medical Expenses: This includes all costs related to medical treatment, such as hospital bills, surgeries, medications, and any future medical care that may be needed due to the misdiagnosis.
- Lost Wages: Compensation for the income lost due to the inability to work during recovery and any future earning potential lost due to long-term health effects.
- Out-of-pocket expenses include travel to medical appointments, medical devices, and other expenses directly related to the misdiagnosis.
Non-Economic Damages
- Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the physical pain and emotional distress caused by the misdiagnosis or undergoing unnecessary medical treatments.
- Loss of Consortium: Compensation for the impact on the relationship between the patient and their spouse, including loss of companionship and support.
- Mental Anguish: Damages for the psychological impact of the misdiagnosis, such as anxiety, depression, and emotional distress.
- Wrongful Death: If you have lost a loved one due to a cancer misdiagnosis, you might be entitled to file a wrongful death claim in Scranton.
We work with financial and medical experts to fully calculate the long-term cost of a delayed or incorrect cancer diagnosis.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims in Scranton, PA
How Long Do I Have to File a Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawsuit in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania generally imposes a two-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims. However, the discovery rule may extend the deadline if the cancer diagnosis was delayed. Prompt legal evaluation is critical.
Can I Sue If My Cancer Diagnosis Was Delayed but I Survived?
Yes. If the delay caused more aggressive treatment, additional medical costs, or reduced life expectancy, you may have a claim even if you survived.
What Cancers Are Most Frequently Misdiagnosed?
Some cancers share symptoms with less serious conditions, increasing the risk of misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. These include:
- Lymphoma
- Breast cancer
- Lung cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Skin cancer
Can Hospitals Be Held Liable for a Cancer Misdiagnosis, Or Only Individual Doctors?
Hospitals and doctors can be held liable for a misdiagnosis of cancer. Hospitals can be held accountable for employee negligence, system failures, or improper supervision.
How Do You Prove a Doctor Failed to Meet the Standard of Care?
We work with qualified medical experts who review records and testify whether another competent physician would have acted differently under similar circumstances.
What Should I Bring to My Consultation?
Bring medical records, test results, pathology reports, billing statements, and a timeline of events. The more documentation available, the stronger our initial evaluation will be.
Call Our Cancer Misdiagnosis Attorneys Today
Call Our Cancer Misdiagnosis Attorneys TodayIf you or a loved one has suffered as a result of a cancer misdiagnosis in Scranton, call the cancer misdiagnosis lawyers at Munley Law. We are experts in fighting medical malpractice cases.
Contact us today for your free initial consultation. You owe us nothing until we win your medical malpractice claim.
Caroline Munley
Caroline Munley is an experienced and award-winning personal injury lawyer and is a board-certified workers’ compensation specialist. Since 2018, she’s been listed in Best Lawyers in America (Personal Injury Plaintiffs; Workers’ Compensation Claimants, Northeastern PA), Lawdragon, and has been a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer since 2022. A member of the International Society of Barristers, Caroline has won millions of dollars for car accident, commercial truck crash, and workplace injury victims.
Reviewed by Bernadine Munley, Esq., Personal Injury Attorney at Munley Law, on March 16, 2026.
