QUESTION

Do I have a case for medical malpractice?

Asked on May 11th, 2013 on Medical Malpractice - Illinois
More details to this question:
my mother died of cancer january 2013, I was her Power of attorney after she was diagnosed, after going through some of her medical paperwork, I discovered she had went to 3 different hospitals before she was correctly diagnosed. the first one did scans and found nothing wrong, the second one did scans and claimed she had an enflamed pancreas and medicated her for that, finally she went to a third hospital in which they did more scans and found liver and lung cancer, also stating her pancreas was fine.
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1 ANSWER

Catastrophic Injury Attorney serving Roseland, NJ at John J. Ratkowitz
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You may have a case worth investigating, it depends whether the inflamed pancreas in the radiograpic study  was actually evidence of cancer (or whether there was evidence of cancer in some other film that was missed) and whether earlier intervention would have changed the outcome.  The big question in most failure to diagnose cancer cases is whether the patient can prove that the doctor’s negligent care caused the damages suffered by the plaintiff. In essence, the plaintiff must be able  to show that earlier intervention would have changed the outcome. This is  a fact sensitive inquiry. An attorney will have to review the medical records and often get experts to review the pertinent radiography films to determine when accepted standards of care should have compelled a doctor to investigate the possible diagnosis. Then, if it is determined that the cancer was present and detectible, the next question becomes what was the likely stage/prognosis when the cancer should have been discovered. If the cancer was at an early stage when it should have been discovered, the case is more likely to be viable. If you want to investigate your case further, you should contact a local medical malpractice attorney (one in your state).  They take these cases on a contingency basis which means you only have to pay if you succeed.  Additionally, initial consultations are usually free. You can use the "Find a Lawyer" service through this website to research medical malpractice attorneys.  Then, visit each attorney's website and look for a firm that has a record of successful verdicts. If you are unable to find a lawyer who meets these qualifications within your state, sometimes you may contact an out of state lawyer who can refer you to a qualified attorney in your state while providing support related to the issues of medicine. Click here for an article that discusses the three main questions I ask when deciding whether to investigate a potential medical malpractice case. This discusses the issue of financial viability. Click here for an article that explains what you can and should expect when pursuing a medical malpractice case. Click here, here  and here for more information about me. Click here for summaries of some of the cases that I have litigated. Since I am a lawyer, I need to advise you of the following when I communicate with you: Please note that by attempting to answer your question, I am not acting as your attorney. I will do nothing further to protect or preserve your interests in the absence of any additional discussion with you about this matter. John Ratkowitz, Esq. Starr, Gern, Davison & Rubin, P.C. 105 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland, NJ 07068 Office: (973) 830-8441 Cell: (732) 616-6278 Fax: (973) 226-0031 Email: jratkowitz@starrgern.com  Skype: john_ratkowitz Click here for my website. 
Answered on May 14th, 2013 at 2:37 PM

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