QUESTION
My husband just recently passed away 7/2/12. He was diagnozed with Bladder Cancer Stage 4 in March 2011.
Asked on Jul 23rd, 2012 on Medical Malpractice - Texas
More details to this question:
The tumor was removed & a stent was placed from his right kidney to the bladder. He went through the series
of 10 chemo treatments. Last treatment was 8/18/11. We were told by the Oncologist that was all the Chemo she could give
him, there was nothing else she could do. His Urologist referred him to a Radiation Oncologist. Radiation treatment began every day 5/14/12-6/15/12. A series of scans were done, which we never saw the results or never discussed the severity of his condition . During this time he became very sick, weakened stage, literally holding on to the walls to hold himself up when he walked. Finally to the point he was falling. The Doctor''s Office called to see when was he coming back in for another treatment. I have read a lot about Bladder Cancer, knowing approximately his survival time. I''m having a hard time understanding why the Dr can''t be honest with us & discuss the severity of his condition.. Instead he spent his last days totally incompasatated. Thank you.
1 ANSWER
Catastrophic Injury Attorney serving Roseland, NJ
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John J. Ratkowitz
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First, I'm sorry for your loss. Losing a loved one to cancer is a very rough process to go through and it is a hard thing to bounce back from. Many clients that I have in circumstances similar to you really do benefit from grief counseling and support groups and if you are not doing that you should consider it.
Most states require physicians to provide patients with informed consent, which would include an accurate description of any treatment options and the likely expectations related to these options.
At face value, it does not sound like any physician attempted to mislead you. Appreciate the fact that prognoses related to cancer treatment are based on a statistical analysis, and any single patient can have a different outcome from the statistical norm. For example, Lance Armstrong had metastatic cancer and he managed to survive what was essentially a death sentence and he has been cancer free since then. Statistically, he had close to a 0% chance of five-year survival rate, but in hindsight he was one of the lucky ones.
Beyond this, even if the doctors were less than forthright regarding your husband's prognosis, it's very unlikely that you have a financially viable malpractice claim given your husband's untimely death due to the disease.
Below are some articles you may find helpful. They are written for a New Jersey audience (where I practice) but the ideas discussed in these articles usually apply in most other jurisdictions as well.
Click here for an article that discusses the three main questions I ask when deciding whether to investigate a potential medical malpractice case. This article discusses the issue of financial viability.
Click here for an article that explains what you can expect when filing a medical malpractice case.
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 Web: www.starrgern.com
Answered on Jul 25th, 2012 at 1:23 PM