Examples Of Lawsuits Of Late Stage Diagnosis Of Prostate Cancer

What would you do if you discovered that you had prostate cancer? How would you react if you then additionally discovered that the cancer was advanced rendering it, at the present time, not curable? And what would you do if you then learned that your doctor either failed to correctly screen you for prostate cancer or ignored abnormal results of screening tests that could have led to finding your cancer while before it had spread, at a time when it was still curable?

Do you believe this could not happen ? Well, look at what occurred to the male patients involved in the following situations:

Case:

For a 3 year time frame a primary care physician did not tell his patient that blood tests showed that the individual's PSA level was not only raised it was also climbing. By the time the doctor at last advised his patient about the abnormal test results the result was a diagnosis of advanced prostate cancer. By then, the patient could no longer hope for a cure, but instead for treatment that would with luck slow down the spread of the cancer and later, ease the pain

Case:

In addition to failing to tell the patient that he had an elevated and rising PSA, the doctor in fact advised him that they were normal. The patient found out he had prostate cancer only after he consulted with a urologist at the urging of a family member. The diagnosis - prostate cancer that had spread to the seminal vesicles.

Case:

A primary care physician performed a physical examination of the patient's prostate gland and found that his prostate gland had a hardened area. The doctor failed to notify the man. The doctor failed to refer the patient to a urologist for a consult. The doctor also did not perform a biopsy to figure out whether the hardened area was cancerous or benign. When the patient eventually discovered the cancer it had already metastasized to other parts of his body.

Case:

The patient has high PSA levels for more than 2 years. But, his doctor failed to let him know during that entire time. When the man was ultimately diagnosed with prostate cancer he attempted surgery hoping that the cancer was still confined to the prostate gland and that surgery could eliminate the cancer. He also had months of hormonal therapy. And then post-surgical PSA levels verified that the surgery did not eliminate the cancer and that it is still present in his body.

Each of the matters discussed above led to a malpractice case. The law firms that handled these lawsuits reported being able to resolve the cases in amounts that ranged from $400,000 to $1,500,000.

Matters like the preceding come up all too often. Whether the doctors fail to review the results of the tests, whether they take the position that there is no need to take action even though the PSA is elevated or a nodule of a certain size is detected in the prostate, or whether they just do not comprehend the guidelines and the standard of care for the action that is proper when screening results are abnormal, these physicians cause a delay that ends up with the growth and spread of the cancer.

Imagine being the one who received such news. You would likely fight the cancer as hard and as long as you could. What if you were his spouse? What if you were his child? What if the patient was your son? You would help him fight the cancer and you offer him all the love and support you had to give.

Possibly you might decide to bring a case for medical malpractice to protect your family’s future. And you hope that if compelled to face the mistake and to pay a cost for it, possibly, just possibly, the physician will improve how he or she treats other patients in the future so that this tragedy will never happen again.

By: J. Hernandez

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Joseph Hernandez is an attorney accepting medical malpractice claims dealing with a misdiagnosis of prostate cancer symptoms and other cancer matters including misdiagnosed colon cancer symptoms Visit the websites