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In 11 of 2013 my wife went to her primary care doctor with intense shoulder pain. Her doctor prescribed anti anxiety medication as if it was all in my wifes head. In 10 of 2014 she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, the lung specialist and oncologist both said that shoulder pain is the earliest warning sign of lung cancer. I asked the oncologist what would this cancer be like a year ago, she replied that it would be stage 1 and confined to the lung, they would hit it with radiation, shrink it down to nothing and my wife would live a long normal life needing to have check ups every 6 months or so, but she would be fine. My wife died on 2/5/2015. I wonder how many other people have died and are going to die because this primary care doctor does not want to look into why her patients are hurting but instead just throws some pills at them and hopes they go away. My wife would have been 51 years old next month. We could have been able to have 20 years of marriage instead of just 1.
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John J. Ratkowitz
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When lung cancer invades the nerves, it may cause shoulder pain that travels down the outside of the arm (called Pancoast syndrome).
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.
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Answered on Feb 16th, 2015 at 9:26 AM