Stomach cancer is one of the world’s top causes of cancer-related deaths. Here in the United States, the American Cancer Society estimates that over 11,000 people will die of stomach cancer in 2020. More than half of those diagnosed with stomach cancer are over the age of 65.
Like most kinds of cancer, getting an accurate diagnosis of stomach cancer in the early stages is always advantageous to the patient, as there are more treatment options available. If a patient is misdiagnosed, they may not be able to get the treatment they need in time—causing serious injuries, a worsening of the stomach cancer, or in some cases, death. Starting treatment later may also contribute to higher costs for the patient.
If you had stomach cancer and a doctor checked out your symptoms but misdiagnosed you, this could be a case of negligence or medical malpractice. When this occurs, you should seek legal advice to protect your rights.
A Los Angeles failure to diagnose stomach cancer lawyer with Pintas & Mullins Law Firm can work to find a way to bring a lawsuit against the doctor or medical team that failed to diagnose you properly. The end goal is to try to help recover damages for your losses due to the neglect you suffered. Call our team today at 800-794-0444 for a free, no-obligation case review.
What Is Stomach Cancer?
When cells in the body start to grow out of control, that is when cancer begins in a person. The Mayo Clinic confirms that stomach cancer symptoms may be unnoticeable in the beginning as these cell changes start taking place in the inner lining of the stomach.
Because of the limited symptoms of early stomach cancer, it is possible to receive a variety of diagnoses from a doctor. Many of the symptoms of stomach cancer—including fatigue, bloating, indigestion, heartburn, and nausea—can be attributed to other conditions. An accurate diagnosis is important, especially for a patient who is later found to be in the stage 3 or stage 4 of stomach cancer.
What Is Cancer Misdiagnosis?
Inaccurate or misdiagnosed stomach cancer diagnosis is a recurring problem in doctor’s offices and hospitals around the country.
In fact, misdiagnosis is the nation’s leading cause of serious medical errors, according to a study by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. About three-quarters of all serious diagnostic medical errors involved inaccurate cancer diagnoses, misdiagnosed vascular events, and failure to diagnose infection.
When a patient sees a doctor and complains of stomach issues, there are many possible directions for the doctor to explore—and many ways that an error in diagnosis can occur.
- Failure to Diagnose Cancer: A failure to diagnose happens when a doctor sees the symptoms and has comparable age-based tests and screening methods available, but just does not detect the stomach cancer.
- Wrong Diagnosis of Cancer: This is when someone receives a cancer diagnosis, but the person does not actually have cancer (also known as a “false positive”).
- Misclassified Cancer: A misclassified diagnosis is when a patient is diagnosed with one type of cancer when the patient actually has a different cancer.
- No Diagnosis of Cancer: Digestive conditions are often misdiagnosed. One doctor may determine that a patient has irritable bowel syndrome, another doctor might diagnose Crohn’s disease, and yet another doctor may suggest that a patient has intestinal bacteria disorder or even pancreatic cancer.
If your doctor failed to diagnose stomach cancer, there are many legal routes you may be able to take. A Los Angeles failure to diagnose stomach cancer lawyer with Pintas & Mullins Law Firm can help explain your options and fight for the compensation you deserve. Call today to learn more.
For a free legal consultation with a Failure to Diagnose Stomach Cancer Lawyer serving Los Angeles, call (800) 794-0444
Determining a Misdiagnosis
When a person receives a misclassified diagnosis or a wrong diagnosis, this is not automatic evidence of medical malpractice or negligence. Skilled doctors may make mistakes and errors in a diagnosis. However, negligence may be proven if the doctor is shown to have incompetently or egregiously arrived at the diagnosis in question. The term “differential diagnosis” is used in legal cases to determine how a doctor made treatment recommendations.
Here is how this plays out in real life. After evaluating a patient, a doctor makes a short list of the probable diagnosis. The doctor makes this determination after lengthy exploration of symptoms, the patient’s background, blood tests, and other observations.
As testing continues, each of these diagnoses may simply fail to be the right one, according to work done by the doctor. There is a chance that only one strong diagnosis will remain in play after the others fail to sustain accurate medical data.
Los Angeles Failure to Diagnose Stomach Cancer Lawyer Near Me (800) 794-0444
How to Prove Negligence
To prove negligence in a diagnosis error case, the plaintiff must address and prove that a doctor in a comparable area of practice would not have misdiagnosed the patient’s stomach cancer. Proving this must cover the following areas:
- The diagnosis was incorrect, but another reasonably skillful and competent doctor would have made the correct diagnosis under similar circumstances.
- The doctor made the right diagnosis, but the doctor failed to do any tests or seek advice from other professionals to verify the probability of the diagnosis. Proving this negligence in a medical malpractice suit would create a strong advantage for the plaintiff.
Under these circumstances, you can see the complex and difficult work involved in trying to prove a doctor’s negligence for a missed or inaccurate stomach cancer diagnosis. A Los Angeles failure to diagnose stomach cancer lawyer can help you navigate a complicated medical malpractice or negligence claim.
At Pintas & Mullins Law Firm, we do not shy away from tough cases. We are here to be your first line of offense in a medical malpractice or negligence lawsuit. Our firm has been handling cases like these for more than 30 years, and our experience is second to none. Call us today at 800-794-0444 for a free, no-obligation consultation.
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