If you or a loved one has suffered harm due to a cancer misdiagnosis or delayed cancer diagnosis in Stroudsburg, you might be facing serious, life-changing, even life-threatening consequences.
You might be enduring severe pain, missed work due to medical appointments or illness, or you may even be grieving the loss of a loved one due to a missed or delayed diagnosis.
If a case of cancer misdiagnosis has caused suffering to you or a loved one, you may be entitled to financial compensation for medical malpractice.
Medical malpractice cases in Pennsylvania are governed by specific time constraints, requiring claims to be filed within a certain period. Generally, you must initiate legal action within two years from the date of the injury or when the injury was reasonably discovered. Missing this deadline could result in losing your right to seek compensation for injuries or wrongful death caused by medical negligence.
If you or a loved one has suffered harm due to a cancer misdiagnosis in Stroudsburg, call the Stroudsburg medical malpractice attorneys at Munley Law today for a free case evaluation. We can provide you with the tools and expertise to win the maximum compensation you could be entitled to for your medical malpractice lawsuit.
What Happens if You Were Misdiagnosed with Cancer in Stroudsburg?
Being misdiagnosed with cancer can have serious lifelong and life-changing effects, both physically and emotionally, including:
- Delayed or Incorrect Treatment: You might receive unnecessary treatments, such as chemotherapy or surgery, which can cause severe side effects. Meanwhile, you are not receiving the treatment you need, allowing the actual medical condition to get worse.
- Emotional and Psychological Impact: A cancer misdiagnosis can lead to significant stress, anxiety, and depression, both for the patient and their family, due to the fear and uncertainty surrounding a serious illness.
- Financial Burden: Unnecessary treatments, medications, and medical bills can create a huge financial burden. Additionally, taking time off work for treatments you didn’t need can lead to lost wages.
- Physical Harm: Unnecessary medical procedures and treatments can cause permanent physical damage. For example, surgery might result in complications, and chemotherapy could lead to long-term health issues.
Types of Cancer Misdiagnosis in Stroudsburg
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, including chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery.
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 treatable.
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.
Causes of Cancer Misdiagnosis in Stroudsburg
A cancer misdiagnosis can have a variety of causes and, sometimes, even more than one, including:
- Misinterpretation of Diagnostic Tests or Images: Errors in reading or analyzing test results, such as biopsies, MRIs, or CT scans, can lead to incorrect conclusions, causing a doctor to miss a cancer diagnosis or incorrectly diagnose cancer when it’s not present.
- Failure to Order Necessary Tests: Sometimes, a doctor might fail to order the appropriate tests crucial for a proper diagnosis. This can lead to an incorrect diagnosis or a delay in discovering the illness.
- Lack of Communication Between Providers: Misdiagnosis can also stem from poor communication between healthcare providers. If vital information is not shared or discussed among the medical team, critical details may be overlooked, leading to diagnostic errors.
- Doctor Bias: A doctor may have preconceived notions or biases about a patient’s age, gender or economic status that affect their judgment. This could result in them dismissing symptoms or making assumptions about a patient’s condition, leading to a misdiagnosis.
Damages in a Stroudsburg Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawsuit
Economic Damages
- Medical Expenses: This covers all costs associated with medical care, including hospital stays, surgeries, medications, and any future treatment required due to the misdiagnosis.
- Lost Wages: Compensation for income lost during the recovery period and any future earnings that may be affected by long-term health complications.
- Out-of-Pocket Expenses: Reimbursement for expenses such as travel to medical appointments, medical devices, and other costs directly related to the misdiagnosis.
Non-Economic Damages
- Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the physical and emotional suffering caused by the misdiagnosis or by undergoing unnecessary medical procedures.
- Loss of Consortium: Damages for the impact on the marital relationship, including loss of companionship, support, and affection.
- Mental Anguish: Compensation for the psychological toll of the misdiagnosis, including anxiety, depression, and emotional trauma.
- Wrongful Death: If a cancer misdiagnosis leads to the death of a loved one, you may have the right to pursue a wrongful death claim.
Stroudsburg Medical Malpractice Lawyers for Cancer Misdiagnosis
If you or a loved one has been injured by a cancer misdiagnosis or delayed or missed cancer diagnosis, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your injuries and losses.
Munley Law firm attorneys are Pennsylvania’s medical malpractice claims experts, recognized nationally for our record-breaking medical error lawsuits.
Our Stroudsburg cancer misdiagnosis lawyers have fought for Pennsylvania families for over 60 years. Your doctor and medical center will have top lawyers from their insurer working to minimize your compensation. You need an experienced personal injury attorney who knows Pennsylvania medical malpractice law and will fight for your rights.
Free Consultation for Your Cancer Misdiagnosis Claim
Munley Law always offers a free initial consultation, and we charge no upfront costs. Hiring a world-class cancer misdiagnosis attorney will cost you nothing until you win. We will discuss your legal options and give you the best action plan for your malpractice case.
Call our team of Stroudsburg personal injury lawyers today. Let us fight for you.
Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys
27 N 6th St,
Stroudsburg, PA 18360
(570) 338-4494