Tampa Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyer
Cancer is a deadly disease with potentially devastating consequences – both from an emotional and from a financial perspective. When cancer is diagnosed early-on, it can be treated successfully with chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and the effects may be lessened.
Despite all of the recent advances in medical technology, cancer is still all-too-often misdiagnosed – or not diagnosed at all until too late. A delayed onset cancer diagnosis or treatment allows cancer cells to multiply rapidly, potentially wreaking havoc on a person’s body and ultimately resulting in further injury or death.
If you or someone you love has been a victim of cancer misdiagnosis at the hands of a healthcare provider, you may be entitled to legal compensation. A Tampa cancer misdiagnosis attorney will also be able to obtain and review all of the pertinent medical records, MRI’s, mammograms, and other imaging studies, and retain a medical expert.
Types of Misdiagnoses
Cancer misdiagnoses usually occur when healthcare providers fail to notice or take action on various warning signs and symptoms – or when they fail to follow proper medical protocols and testing procedures. The most common types of cancer misdiagnoses include the following:
- Misreading labor biopsy results
- Failing to follow up on questionable test results or mammograms
- Failing to perform adequate or regular cancer screenings and tests
- Misdiagnosing a cancerous tumor as benign
- Failing to observe physical symptoms upon examination
- Failing to order the proper tests or bloodwork
- Failing to provide proper follow-up care or testing
The following types of cancers are commonly misdiagnosed:
- Breast
- Lung
- Ovarian
- Prostate
- Testicular
- Colon
- Skin
Statute of Limitations
A Tampa cancer misdiagnosis attorney can file a claim or a lawsuit within the Florida statute of limitations for medical negligence cases. In a Tampa cancer misdiagnosis case, the statute of limitations is two years from the date of the misdiagnosis – or from the discovery of the misdiagnosis.
Florida, unlike many other states, requires that prior to filing a lawsuit, another doctor (i.e. an expert) provide a sworn statement, under oath, that there was, in fact, a cancer misdiagnosis.
Medical Malpractice
In order to prove medical malpractice, or medical negligence, on the part of a treating healthcare provider in a Tampa cancer misdiagnosis case, the injured patient must prove that the healthcare provider breached the standard of care.
In other words, the healthcare provider must have failed to act as a “reasonably prudent doctor” would have acted under the same or similar circumstances.
An injured patient must also prove that the doctor’s breach of the standard of care proximately resulted in injuries and damages, such as increased medical bills and pain and suffering.
Contact a Cancer Misdiagnosis Attorney Today
Medical malpractice and cancer misdiagnosis cases can be very difficult to prove, as healthcare providers are oftentimes given the benefit of the doubt when treatment issues arise. Therefore, it is essential that you have a Tampa cancer misdiagnosis attorney representing you throughout your case.
An experienced cancer misdiagnosis attorney in Tampa will be able to review all of the facts and circumstances with you and determine whether or not you have a case and work with you moving forward.