Any cancer diagnosis is frightening, but the recovery rate for many cancers is encouraging when it’s found early. Delayed discovery of the disease can mean more invasive treatments and a less optimistic outcome.
Medical personnel may be at fault when your cancer wasn’t diagnosed at the earliest opportunity. If the delay caused you harm, you might have a medical malpractice claim against the doctor for failing to diagnose your cancer when they should have.
Speak with a Connecticut cancer misdiagnosis lawyer at D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC, as soon as you learn of your correct diagnosis. One of our experienced attorneys can review your medical record and determine whether you have the basis for bringing a lawsuit.
Medicine isn’t an exact science, and medical professionals aren’t perfect. When a doctor’s best effort results in a misdiagnosis, it’s not necessarily medical malpractice. Medical malpractice occurs when the quality of the doctor’s work isn’t in line with the quality of care other similarly credentialed doctors would have provided in similar circumstances.
There are many ways a doctor’s failure to provide an appropriate standard of care could lead to missing or misdiagnosing cancer as another disease or condition. Some of these include:
If your physician made any of these errors, and you were later diagnosed with cancer, it’s critical to speak to a lawyer at D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC, as soon as possible.
Connecticut General Statutes § 52-584 allows you only two years from the date of your injury to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. In a cancer misdiagnosis case, the two-year clock would begin running on the date the doctor misdiagnosed you or the date when you learned of the misdiagnosis. However, if more than three years have passed since you were misdiagnosed, you cannot sue unless an exception applies to your case.
Before you can file a medical malpractice claim, a medical expert must review your records. The expert must practice medicine in the same specialty as the doctor you are considering suing. The expert must provide a written statement that they believe your doctor was negligent—meaning they did not provide appropriate care—and explain how the care was deficient.
Once a Connecticut cancer misdiagnosis attorney receives the expert’s statement, they can file a complaint, which begins the lawsuit. The complaint must include the expert’s statement so the doctor you are suing understands why you believe they committed malpractice. But the name of the doctor who provided the opinion is confidential, and the name is redacted from the written opinion when attached to the complaint.
Many medical malpractice cases go to mediation prior to a trial. The parties meet with a neutral third party who will try to help you and the doctor reach an agreement about what happened and hopefully get a satisfactory financial settlement. If mediation fails, the parties pursue a resolution in court, usually with a jury trial.
Many states limit the amount of money a patient can recover from a doctor who is guilty of malpractice. Connecticut does not, although the doctor’s malpractice insurance could limit the amount a patient might receive.
In a comprehensive medical malpractice claim, you can seek compensation for:
An attorney at our firm will get to know you and your family so they have a clear sense of how the misdiagnosis affected you, and if married, your spouse as well as your minor children. They will work hard to ensure you get a fair payment for the losses you and your loved ones have suffered.
It can be devastating to learn that you have cancer and that it should have been found earlier. When the delay caused you harm, you can hold the doctor who botched your diagnosis accountable by seeking financial compensation.
The legal professionals at D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC, have a long track record of success in these cases. Get in touch today to schedule a free consultation, remote or in person, with a Connecticut cancer misdiagnosis lawyer.
