There was a time that a diagnosis of cancer was the equivalent of a death sentence. Luckily, this is no longer the case. In fact, according to the National Cancer Institute, technology has changed the way cancer is diagnosed, and in New Jersey, rapid detection can truly increase the number of people who will fight and overcome many cancers and go on to live for years.

Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. When cancer is not diagnosed early enough, or is misdiagnosed, the results can be devastating. In these cases, it’s not unusual for the patient to suffer significant complications and death. If you believe your doctor was negligent in failing to diagnose your illness or misdiagnosed cancer, you should speak with a knowledgeable NJ delayed cancer diagnosis attorney who can fight on your behalf. Failing to diagnose cancer after examining a patient is often due to negligent behavior on the part of the healthcare professional. Perhaps the doctor wasn’t listening or asking the right questions. Perhaps he or she was in a rush and dismissed something that should have been a red flag. This is considered medical malpractice.

Some examples of negligent, dismissive actions that may cause a failure to diagnose cancer include:

•     Not looking more closely at skin growths that might be suspicious
•     Failure to order a mammogram when medically appropriate
•     Misinterpretation of imaging studies that reveal a cancerous mass
•     Failure to interpret tissue samples that indicate cancer
•     Not testing for or failing to detect elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA)

Finding out you or someone you love has cancer is bad enough. Finding out your doctor failed to diagnose it earlier or completely misdiagnosed the cancer causing you to undergo inappropriate treatment, is completely unacceptable. Contact our firm today if you need strong legal representation after a delayed diagnosis.

If you are in need of experienced legal counsel for matters of personal injury, medical malpractice, medical device injuries, unsafe drug injuries, consumer protection, bankruptcy, SSD, or criminal law in New Jersey, please contact Tomes Law Firm, PC and we will be happy to assist you.