When is delaying a lung cancer diagnosis medical malpractice?

Lung cancer can’t always be detected early, especially in patients with no symptoms or known risk factors. However, when a lung cancer diagnosis is delayed because a doctor deviated from the standard of care by failing to order or correctly read the results of tests or by neglecting to advise the patient of their results and necessary follow-up, it can constitute medical malpractice. To have grounds for a malpractice claim arising out of a delayed lung cancer diagnosis, you need to be able to establish that your condition and prognosis have worsened as a result of the delay.

Who can you hold liable for failing to diagnose lung cancer promptly?

Potential defendants in lung cancer misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis claims include radiologists, emergency room doctors, primary care doctors, oncologists, surgeons, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and hospitals.

How can retaining a medical malpractice attorney help when you’re battling late-stage lung cancer?

A cancer malpractice claim allows you to pursue compensation for losses like medical costs and income loss, which are major sources of financial stress for cancer patients and their families. We handle the process of securing compensation for you so the hassles of a claim won’t get in the way of your medical journey. Cancer patients often question how they could have had cancer for so long without knowing it, especially when they have undergone the tests that should have detected the disease. By uncovering the truth and getting answers, a claim can help patients and their families make sense of what’s happened, as well as move forward with the care that offers the best possible prognosis. Negligent healthcare providers should face the consequences when their conduct puts patients’ lives at risk. We aim to hold doctors and hospitals accountable through the claims process.

What compensation can a lung cancer patient receive through a medical malpractice claim?

Cancer patients can pursue compensation for economic and non-economic losses such as increased medical expenses, future projected medical costs, wage loss during treatment, any decline in future earning potential, pain and suffering, reduced quality of life, and shortened life expectancy. When family members file wrongful death claims on behalf of loved ones who lost their lives due to cancer malpractice, they can pursue compensation for losses such as outstanding medical expenses, funeral costs, loss of income and financial support, and loss of companionship and non-financial support.

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New Jersey Failure To Diagnose Lung Cancer Lawyers

Lung Cancer Malpractice Attorneys in Haddonfield, NJ Specializing in Misdiagnosis and Delayed Treatment Cases in Camden County, Burlington County, Gloucester County, and Throughout South Jersey

Lung cancers are difficult to treat, in part because these cancers often aren’t diagnosed until they have spread beyond the lungs and reached an advanced stage of progression. If your doctor’s actions delayed your diagnosis, you could be in a much worse position because of their negligence. For all the ways malpractice has impacted your prognosis and added to your hardships, our New Jersey failure to diagnose lung cancer lawyers can help you pursue accountability and financial compensation.

At The Law Offices of Andres, Berger & Tran, we recognize the impact a late-stage cancer battle has on every part of your life. That’s why we’re committed to holding negligent healthcare providers liable for the harm they cause. Contact us today to find out how our attorneys can help you pursue full compensation for your losses without upfront legal costs.

Help Holding Negligent Doctors Liable for a Delayed Lung Cancer Diagnosis in New Jersey

Dismissing a patient’s symptoms, failing to recommend routine screenings for at-risk patients, and misreading test results can turn out to be more than small oversights. These mistakes can allow lung cancer to grow, spread, and put a patient’s life at a significantly higher risk.

Our lung cancer malpractice attorneys in Haddonfield, NJ, are here to guide cancer patients, leading them through the legal process, handling the demands of a claim, and holding providers liable for their errors.

The Impact of a Delayed Lung Cancer Diagnosis

The overall survival rate for lung cancer is not promising, and the more the cancer spreads, the bleaker the prognosis becomes.

For all non-small cell lung cancer, the American Cancer Society reported an overall five-year survival rate of only 28%. While localized non-small cell lung cancer has a 65% survival rate, the likelihood of survival declines to 37% when cancer spreads regionally and just 9% when it spreads to distant regions of the body. For small cell lung cancer, the overall survival rate is even worse, at only 7%. Localized small cell lung cancer has a 30% survival rate, while regional small cell lung cancer has an 18% survival rate. When small cell lung cancer spreads to distant regions, the survival rate is only 3%.

The treatments that give you the best chance of beating lung cancer and prolonging your life can have harsh side effects on your healthy cells, your overall well-being, and your quality of life. That’s particularly true of the aggressive interventions, including chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, needed when your cancer has progressed to an advanced stage and spread to distant regions.

When you’re facing the physical health struggles, emotional impact, and financial hardships that result from the preventable progression of lung cancer due to medical malpractice, you may be entitled to compensation. Experienced New Jersey failure to diagnose lung cancer lawyers can help you seek compensation for all of your losses, economic and non-economic.

How Medical Mistakes Can Delay a Lung Cancer Diagnosis

Early detection of lung cancer is challenging because cancer that begins in the lungs often doesn't cause symptoms until it reaches an advanced—and harder-to-treat—stage. Imaging tests like low-dose CT scans can be used to screen for lung cancer in people who are high-risk, usually due to a history of smoking. However, more than one in 10 people diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked, according to research published in JAMA Oncology. This means that for non-smokers unfortunate enough to develop lung cancer, there aren’t any widely used screening tools that can detect the condition before it progresses enough to cause noticeable symptoms.

Healthcare professionals need to take full advantage of any opportunity to diagnose lung cancer promptly by recognizing potential symptoms, ordering the right screening or diagnostic tests, carefully reviewing all test results, and referring the patient for appropriate treatment or developing a treatment plan.

Skilled lung cancer malpractice attorneys in Haddonfield, NJ, can review your medical records to identify any ways in which your healthcare team failed to adhere to the standard of care. Examples of medical negligence that can contribute to delayed lung cancer diagnoses include:

Failing to obtain a complete medical history, including family history of cancer and smoking history
Failing to recognize symptoms that could potentially indicate lung cancer
Failing to recommend appropriate screenings or diagnostic tests when a patient presents with risk factors for lung cancer or symptoms consistent with the condition
Failing to read or interpret test results correctly, often by ignoring abnormalities and suspicious findings that could indicate early-stage lung cancer
Mislabeling or mixing up patients’ records and their test results
Neglecting to inform a patient of test results that indicate lung cancer or to refer the patient for further testing and treatment
Misdiagnosing patients with other conditions, such as pneumonia or asthma, which allows the cancer to continue to grow
Failing to conduct follow-up testing when patients’ symptoms don’t improve

Many delayed lung cancer diagnosis claims arise out of instances in which a patient underwent X-rays, CT scans, or other tests—sometimes for injuries that had nothing to do with cancer—only for their healthcare providers to either misread their results or fail to inform the patient of their findings. The patient did everything right, raising their concerns with their doctor and undergoing the tests that were supposed to help protect their health, only for medical negligence to keep them from getting the timely diagnosis needed to have the best chance of beating lung cancer.

The worsening of certain kinds of lung cancer can happen quickly. A delay of even a matter of months could drastically change your prognosis and the treatments necessary to give you the best chance at beating lung cancer.

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

Although patients in New Jersey can hold healthcare providers accountable for medical mistakes, including a failure to diagnose lung cancer promptly, they need to establish certain elements of malpractice to do so successfully. The New Jersey failure to diagnose lung cancer lawyers at The Law Offices of Andres, Berger & Tran assist patients and their families with establishing all necessary elements, including:

The duty the provider or facility owed to you as a patient to act within the standard of care
The conduct that deviated from the standard of care by failing to align with the actions a competent, reasonably prudent professional with the same level of training would have taken in the course of your care
The harm that resulted from the delay in diagnosing lung cancer, often due to the continued growth, spread, and progression of the cancer
The full extent of economic and non-economic damages that resulted from your worsened condition, including both the losses you are already facing and any projected future losses

Our team of lung cancer malpractice attorneys in Haddonfield, NJ, builds strong legal arguments and supports claims through careful case preparation. Our attention to detail and collaborations with expert witnesses allow us to identify potentially liable parties and conduct that can constitute medical malpractice as we painstakingly review your medical records.

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

When facing a lung cancer malpractice claim, you want the benefits of experienced legal counsel on your side. Patients turn to the New Jersey failure to diagnose lung cancer lawyers at The Law Offices of Andres, Berger & Tran for our reputation for skillfully handling complex medical negligence claims at no upfront cost.

A Reputation for Excellence and Integrity

You need to know that your legal team is committed to handling your case with excellence, integrity, and dedication to fighting for your best interests. At The Law Offices of Andres, Berger & Tran, we’ve spent decades cultivating a reputation for providing high-quality legal assistance to the injured, including cancer patients. Clients and peers in the legal profession have selected us for awards that speak to our commitment.

The Skills and Professional Connections to Identify Medical Negligence in Complex Cases

Cancer malpractice cases aren't easy, but our team of New Jersey failure to diagnose lung cancer lawyers has a record of getting these claims right through our skilled case preparation and deep knowledge of complex medical issues. We succeed through hard work, smart analysis of the facts, and strategic collaborations with expert witnesses across the medical field. With our experience detecting alterations in clients’ medical records, we’re even prepared to uncover negligent conduct that practitioners have attempted to hide.

A Commitment to Providing Skilled Legal Assistance at No Upfront Cost

You shouldn’t have to worry about affording legal assistance at a time like this. By offering contingency-based representation, The Law Offices of Andres, Berger & Tran ensure you’ll never have to. We provide the legal representation you need at every stage of your claim without charging upfront fees. You only ever pay for our services if we succeed in securing compensation for you.

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

When a doctor’s negligence has left you facing a difficult battle against late-stage lung cancer, you need legal guidance sooner rather than later. An experienced medical malpractice lawyer can help you understand your rights and options and begin building a case for the compensation you deserve, starting with a complimentary consultation.

For help from lung 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 Lung Cancer Claims in New Jersey

Lung cancer can’t always be detected early, especially in patients with no symptoms or known risk factors. However, when a lung cancer diagnosis is delayed because a doctor deviated from the standard of care by failing to order or correctly read the results of tests or by neglecting to advise the patient of their results and necessary follow-up, it can constitute medical malpractice. To have grounds for a malpractice claim arising out of a delayed lung cancer diagnosis, you need to be able to establish that your condition and prognosis have worsened as a result of the delay.
A cancer malpractice claim allows you to pursue compensation for losses like medical costs and income loss, which are major sources of financial stress for cancer patients and their families. We handle the process of securing compensation for you so the hassles of a claim won’t get in the way of your medical journey.
Cancer patients often question how they could have had cancer for so long without knowing it, especially when they have undergone the tests that should have detected the disease. By uncovering the truth and getting answers, a claim can help patients and their families make sense of what’s happened, as well as move forward with the care that offers the best possible prognosis.
Negligent healthcare providers should face the consequences when their conduct puts patients’ lives at risk. We aim to hold doctors and hospitals accountable through the claims process.
Cancer patients can pursue compensation for economic and non-economic losses such as increased medical expenses, future projected medical costs, wage loss during treatment, any decline in future earning potential, pain and suffering, reduced quality of life, and shortened life expectancy.
When family members file wrongful death claims on behalf of loved ones who lost their lives due to cancer malpractice, they can pursue compensation for losses such as outstanding medical expenses, funeral costs, loss of income and financial support, and loss of companionship and non-financial support.