What’s the difference between delayed diagnosis and misdiagnosis of breast cancer?

Medical negligence can often delay getting an accurate breast cancer diagnosis and initiating the care required for the best possible outcome. Misdiagnosis occurs when a healthcare practitioner mistakenly diagnoses a patient with a different condition, such as fibrocystic breast disease, instead of breast cancer. The patient may undergo treatment for a condition they don’t actually have, potentially taking on a risk of side effects without any benefits. Meanwhile, nothing is being done to address the cancer and keep it from growing, spreading, and reaching a more advanced stage. If the patient isn’t diagnosed with a different condition, their situation is a case of delayed diagnosis rather than misdiagnosis. Although they aren’t also receiving treatments that fail to address the cancer, patients who do not receive prompt, proper medical intervention due to delayed diagnosis are still at risk of the cancer progressing to a more advanced—and dangerous—stage.

What responsibilities do healthcare professionals have to detect and treat breast cancer?

Healthcare professionals and facilities have varying duties with regard to diagnosing cancer, but all must provide care that aligns with the accepted standard of care in the medical community. Primary care doctors should refer patients for routine screening tests such as mammograms and, in the case of symptoms that could indicate breast cancer, refer patients to appropriate specialists. Gynecologists should perform a proper physical breast exam during routine appointments and find any tumors during that exam. If the physical exam reveals concerns, this physician should refer the patient to a specialist. Radiologists have a responsibility to correctly read and interpret the results of imaging tests. Breast specialists and oncologists have a duty to develop and implement evidence-based treatment plans. Clinical technicians must perform imaging procedures correctly, and pathologists and laboratory technicians must follow proper procedures for screenings and diagnostic tests to produce accurate results.

When can you sue a doctor or testing laboratory for failing to diagnose breast cancer sooner?

To hold a healthcare provider or facility accountable for failing to detect breast cancer, you need to be able to establish that their conduct deviated from the standard of care. It generally requires the skills of experienced New Jersey failure to diagnose breast cancer lawyers, working in conjunction with medical experts, to make a strong argument, backed by evidence, that this conduct fell short of what a reasonably prudent provider with a similar level of training would have done. You also need to establish the harm resulting from cancer malpractice to have the grounds for a claim.

How can an attorney help patients facing a battle with late-stage breast cancer?

When you’re undergoing treatment for breast cancer that has spread to regional or distant areas of the body, the last thing you need is additional stress. Our breast cancer malpractice attorneys in Haddonfield, NJ, help patients by providing the legal support they need to secure financial compensation—without the hassle of managing a claim themselves or any upfront costs of legal representation. We can hold negligent physicians accountable while seeking compensation for your physical, emotional, and financial losses. With us handling your legal claim, you can focus on your health without the distractions of worrying about financial hardships or the legal process.

Andres Berger Tran/

Cancer Malpractice Claims/

Breast Cancer

New Jersey Failure To Diagnose Breast Cancer Lawyers

Breast Cancer Malpractice Attorneys in Haddonfield, NJ Providing Legal Support for Misdiagnosis in Camden County, Burlington County, Gloucester County, and Throughout South Jersey

When breast cancer is allowed to spread unchecked, the prognosis for survival and recovery can become drastically worse. If a healthcare provider’s negligent conduct delayed your diagnosis and the prompt treatment that your condition required, they can be held liable for the added hardships you suffer as a result of having an advanced stage of breast cancer. The New Jersey failure to diagnose breast cancer lawyers at The Law Offices of Andres, Berger & Tran help cancer patients recover financial compensation for their medical expenses, income loss, and pain and suffering.

Fighting a cancer battle can feel isolating, but you don’t have to face the legal process on your own. We’ll manage all aspects of your claim to ensure you can focus on your health while still moving forward with securing the compensation you’re entitled to. Contact us today to find out how we can assist you at no upfront cost, making life after a cancer diagnosis easier.

How Delayed Diagnosis Impacts Patients With Breast Cancer

When detected early, breast cancer is among the most treatable forms of cancer. That’s what makes delays in diagnosing breast cancer so devastating.

Breast cancer that could have easily been treated and potentially even cured when detected early becomes much more challenging to treat once it has advanced. You may need to undergo more aggressive treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, when the tumor has grown larger or cancer has spread beyond the localized area of the breast.

Overall, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer is 91%, according to the American Cancer Society. However, early detection is critical for having the best prognosis. At the localized stage, the survival rate is 99%. When the cancer spreads to a regional stage, the survival rate drops to 86%. Spreading to distant areas causes the survival rate for patients diagnosed with breast cancer to plummet to just 31%.

Additionally, the survival rates at all stages are lower for triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of breast cancer, as well as for inflammatory breast cancer, the American Cancer Society reported.

A healthcare professional’s failure to diagnose breast cancer can result in consequences like the following:

Poorer health outcomes
Poorer prognoses for the future
Increased medical costs
Increases in wage loss
Increases in physical and emotional suffering

Any healthcare professional or facility that contributes to diagnosis delays should be held fully accountable. Our experienced breast cancer malpractice attorneys in Haddonfield, NJ, work to secure compensation for patients impacted by medical negligence.

Proving Medical Malpractice for Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis in New Jersey

To prove malpractice in a cancer misdiagnosis claim, our New Jersey failure to diagnose breast cancer lawyers work to establish certain elements:

The professional or facility in question owed you some sort of duty of care, whether through a doctor-patient relationship or the duty a testing laboratory has to handle and process specimens and test results according to proper procedures.
The actions or failures to take action that resulted in a failure to diagnose cancer promptly constituted a deviation from the actions a reasonably careful provider with the same level of training would have taken.
The provider’s conduct caused you harm in the form of allowing your cancer to go untreated, growing and potentially spreading to more distant parts of the body.
The progression of breast cancer that resulted from a provider’s deviation from the standard of care caused you damages, including increased medical expenses, a poorer prognosis, and additional pain and suffering.

Breast cancer misdiagnosis and malpractice claims require evidence to establish each of these elements. Generally, in cases of failure to diagnose breast cancer promptly, you need to show how the provider’s conduct, as established by your medical records, failed to align with the standard of care in referring patients for routine screenings and diagnostic tests, conducting tests properly, interpreting test results, and referring patients to the appropriate specialists for further care.

How The Law Offices of Andres, Berger & Tran Can Help

As experienced New Jersey failure to diagnose breast cancer lawyers, The Law Offices of Andres, Berger & Tran are ready to address the unique challenges involved in medical malpractice matters like yours. We begin each potential claim with a free initial consultation that allows us to review the known facts of your situation. By conducting more thorough investigations and analyses of medical records, we can begin to identify potential defendants and build claims.

Throughout the claims process, we advocate for cancer patients’ best interests, representing them in all insurance company interactions, settlement negotiations, and legal proceedings.

Why Choose The Law Offices of Andres, Berger & Tran?

What should you look for when choosing New Jersey failure to diagnose breast cancer lawyers to help you hold negligent healthcare providers accountable? The team at The Law Offices of Andres, Berger & Tran has a history of securing clients maximum results through meticulous case preparation and strategic collaborations with expert witnesses in medical specialties related to breast health and cancer care.

A Proven Record of Six-Figure and Seven-Figure Settlements and Verdicts

Our reputation for having secured dozens of payouts in the range of hundreds of thousands of dollars or above speaks to our success in securing maximum compensation for our clients. Among the high-value results we have recovered are a $750,000 payout for a misdiagnosis of breast cancer that led to metastatic cancer and ultimately wrongful death, a $650,000 payout for the misdiagnosis of breast cancer resulting in metastatic cancer, and $500,000 in compensation for misdiagnosis of breast cancer leading to mastectomy.

The Detail-Oriented Case Preparation Your Claim Demands

The outcomes we achieve for cancer victims harmed by malpractice are no coincidence. We get these results through careful case preparation that prioritizes attention to detail, diligence in evidence gathering, and preparation for every contingency. As we construct your legal strategy and the theories of negligence we will highlight in your case, we interview witnesses and analyze medical reports.

A History of Collaborating With Medical Experts to Build Strong Claims for Our Clients

In medical malpractice cases, success depends on having respected expert witnesses provide authoritative opinions on how the defendant’s conduct deviated from the standard of care. Our breast cancer malpractice attorneys in Haddonfield, NJ, have a history of working closely with reputable expert witnesses in all areas of medicine, including radiology, obstetrics and gynecology, oncology, and breast surgery.

Contact the New Jersey Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer Lawyers at The Law Offices of Andres, Berger & Tran Today for a Free Case Review

Retaining experienced legal counsel for a breast cancer misdiagnosis claim doesn’t have to add to your stress. By offering free consultations, home and hospital visits, and legal assistance for medical malpractice matters at no upfront cost, our law firm ensures all cancer patients who believe medical negligence impacted their condition can receive the legal guidance they need.

For help from breast cancer malpractice attorneys in Haddonfield, NJ, contact The Law Offices of Andres, Berger & Tran online or call 856-317-6558 today.

Frequently Asked Questions About Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer Claims in New Jersey

Medical negligence can often delay getting an accurate breast cancer diagnosis and initiating the care required for the best possible outcome.
Misdiagnosis occurs when a healthcare practitioner mistakenly diagnoses a patient with a different condition, such as fibrocystic breast disease, instead of breast cancer. The patient may undergo treatment for a condition they don’t actually have, potentially taking on a risk of side effects without any benefits. Meanwhile, nothing is being done to address the cancer and keep it from growing, spreading, and reaching a more advanced stage.
If the patient isn’t diagnosed with a different condition, their situation is a case of delayed diagnosis rather than misdiagnosis. Although they aren’t also receiving treatments that fail to address the cancer, patients who do not receive prompt, proper medical intervention due to delayed diagnosis are still at risk of the cancer progressing to a more advanced—and dangerous—stage.
Healthcare professionals and facilities have varying duties with regard to diagnosing cancer, but all must provide care that aligns with the accepted standard of care in the medical community.
Primary care doctors should refer patients for routine screening tests such as mammograms and, in the case of symptoms that could indicate breast cancer, refer patients to appropriate specialists. Gynecologists should perform a proper physical breast exam during routine appointments and find any tumors during that exam. If the physical exam reveals concerns, this physician should refer the patient to a specialist.
Radiologists have a responsibility to correctly read and interpret the results of imaging tests. Breast specialists and oncologists have a duty to develop and implement evidence-based treatment plans. Clinical technicians must perform imaging procedures correctly, and pathologists and laboratory technicians must follow proper procedures for screenings and diagnostic tests to produce accurate results.
To hold a healthcare provider or facility accountable for failing to detect breast cancer, you need to be able to establish that their conduct deviated from the standard of care. It generally requires the skills of experienced New Jersey failure to diagnose breast cancer lawyers, working in conjunction with medical experts, to make a strong argument, backed by evidence, that this conduct fell short of what a reasonably prudent provider with a similar level of training would have done. You also need to establish the harm resulting from cancer malpractice to have the grounds for a claim.
When you’re undergoing treatment for breast cancer that has spread to regional or distant areas of the body, the last thing you need is additional stress. Our breast cancer malpractice attorneys in Haddonfield, NJ, help patients by providing the legal support they need to secure financial compensation—without the hassle of managing a claim themselves or any upfront costs of legal representation. We can hold negligent physicians accountable while seeking compensation for your physical, emotional, and financial losses. With us handling your legal claim, you can focus on your health without the distractions of worrying about financial hardships or the legal process.