My husband's doctor misdiagnosed him, do I have a case to sue him?

You have a great med mal case. Go to Atty right away. You have short statute of limitations, which will put you SOL if it runs.

Yes it sounds like you have a good malpractice case.

The facts as you described them leave no doubt that the gastroenterologist committed a malpractice: 1) he failed to correctly diagnose your husband's condition; 2) he prescribed prednisone which would have been absolutely counterindicated for a patient with an abscess; 3) he failed to refer your husband fo a proper treatment of an abscess (which would have been surgical). So, you do have a cause of action against the gastroenterologist for professional malpractice. On the other hand, in pragmatic sense, the outcome of your lawsuit might not adequately compensate your husband and you for the pain and anguish that is, unfortunately, awaiting you both. From your description of the events, it appears that your husband was correctly diagnosed just a few days (a couple of weeks, at most) after he was seen by the gastroenterologist. The gastroenterologist's attorney will argue that his client's mistakes did not cause your husband's illness and did not materially worsen his prospects of recovery; if so, the doctor did not do any harm to your husband, and does not have to pay for his mistakes. Your attorney could interpose some valid counterarguments; and, if the case goes on trial, it all will come down to who will convince the jury. However, if your attorney puts together a convincing case, the doctor and his insurance company are likely to offer you a settlement - which might be substantial or not, but will hardly resemble the judgment you could expect from the court. I would recommend bringing this lawsuit; but, considering that it will be a time consuming and emotionally draining experience at en exceptionally difficult time for your husband and you, you both need to think through this decision. May God give you strength.

He may have missed a call but cancer grows slowly in the colon and I doubt this short period of time made any difference in his condition and ultimate care. you must ask the doctor if he thinks otherwise. It is one thing to say the dr should have seen the cancer. It is another thing to say that this caused damage which is required

In order to prove a medical malpractice case, a claimant must prove a failure to conform to accepted practice, resulting in an injury. A bad result is not enough, and if it is a "judgment call" by the doctor, there is no malpractice, even if the doctor made the wrong call. Your husband will need to get copies of ALL of his medical records and have a doctor review them; if the reviewing doctor is willing to testify that your husband's previous doctor failed to conform to accepted practice, then he has a case. From what you've said, this is something to look into: misdiagnosed cancer and a doctor saying he can't believe that the first doctor wouldn't it. But, this new doctor will never admit he said that, so you will have to hire an outside expert. Also, there will have to be proof that earlier diagnosis would have had a substantially greater result. Finally, it is your husband who has the primary case, yours is "derrivative" to his for loss of society and companionship, loss of value of household services and loss of consortium.

The short answer is ....possibly. It depends on whether the delay in reaching the correct diagnosis and then getting proper treatment for your husband's cancer causes a different outcome. Hopefully, your husband will recover and there will be no bad result from the temporary misdiagnosis. How long was the treatment delayed because of this misdiagnosis?

Maybe, but the real question is had the proper diagnosis been made, could the cancer have been cured or managed? In other words, does the misdiagnosis make a difference in your husband's condition? You will need the opinion of a Dr. who practices in the same field on that. If you decide to get a lawyer, look for one who is familiar and experienced with Alabama medical malpractice law. Good luck.

You should speak to an attorney that has experience in medical malpractice claims. There are two elements that need to be addressed, fault and causation. To establish fault you must show, with medical testimony, that the conduct of the physician fell below the standard of care in the relevant medical community. Sounds like you may have that from the comment of the other doctor, if he will repeat them under oath. Secondly, you must show that the doctor's failure to meet the standard of care caused damages. You would have to show that the outcome would have been better if your husband had been diagnosed sooner. Your question does not indicate the time lag between the first doctor's review of the imaging and the second doctor's review or any indication that the delay caused problems.

Feel free to consult with a personal injury attorney familiar with medical malpractice cases, but the obstacle I can't see you overcoming is whether the delay in diagnosis (which doesn't sound like very long from your question) made any significant difference in the ultimate outcome. If it was many months, that may be one thing but if it was only a few weeks, no doctor is going to say that may a difference in the outcome.

How far did the cancer progress from the date of the first doctor's examination to the examination by the doctor who discovered it? What damage was done that could have been averted had he been properly diagnosed initially?

Yes, the doctor screwed up. If the delay in getting the right diagnosis and treatment, in and of itself, caused your husband harm, then you have the basis for a malpractice case. Malpractice without causation is not worth the expense of pursuing.

All med-mal cases are tough and depend on expert testimony. Perhaps you should get a second opinion from another gi doctor.

If he sent out his opinion can be verified, and is willing to testify it doesn't sound like you have made out a prima facie case for medical negligence. You should see an attorney. However, unless you can show that the misdiagnosis has a significant effect on your husbands prognosis the two-week delay between the misdiagnosis and the correct diagnosis there may be very little in the way of recoverable damages.

It is possible you have a claim. However, failure to diagnose cancer, is a difficult claim to win. In Missouri, a claim for medical negligence must be brought within 2 years of the date the negligence was discovered. You should contact an attorney who handles medical negligence cases as soon as possible, if you wish to pursue the claim.

Based on the limited facts you provided, and not knowing the dates involved, it seems you have a possible medical negligence case to explore with an attorney in North Carolina who handles medical malpractice matters. You should understand, however, that North Carolina has some rules which make medical malpractice lawsuits difficult and, therefore, good lawyers are very selective in the new cases which they will accept for investigation and possible filing. I hope this is the type of information you were looking for by means of your question.

I am very sorry to hear about your husband. Cancer does not occur overnight, and the cancer your husband had was probably there for years. One week or even months of delay probably had no effect on the treatment and his stage of cancer. However, I would look at his general doctor and the visits over the course of treatment and complaints over the last few years. Colon cancer usually proceeds with blood in the feces, fatigue, weight loss, as well as other symptoms. His blood tests for the last few years get a hold of them and see a lawyer who does this work.