Seattle Failure to Diagnose Cancer Attorney
The law in Washington does not expect a doctor to make a correct diagnosis 100% of the time. It does, however, impose a duty on physicians to adhere to medical industry standards of care when making diagnoses. If a physician falls short of these expectations, he or she could make a devastating error – such as the negligent failure to diagnose cancer.
Prompt treatment can mean the difference between life and death in a cancer case. An early diagnosis often increases a patient’s likelihood of survival. When a physician or radiologist negligently fails to diagnose cancer, it could stand in the way of the patient ever recovering. If you believe you or a loved one is the victim of failure to diagnose cancer, contact the Seattle medical malpractice lawyers at Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys PC right away.
Why Choose Us?
- We have a team of lawyers who are devoted to pursuing justice for clients.
- We are true trial attorneys with years of experience going to court.
- We have a high success rate in and out of the courtroom in Seattle.
- We are a boutique law firm that offers our undivided attention to each client.
- We represent clients during failure to diagnose claims on a contingency fee basis.
Why Might a Doctor Fail to Diagnose Cancer?
The standards of care in the medical industry require physicians to use a process of elimination approach to making diagnoses. First, the physician should conduct a physical exam of the patient. The doctor should listen to the patient’s complaints and pair them with any physical signs of illness. Then, the doctor should create a list of possible diagnoses and schedule tests and follow-ups to eliminate different possibilities. The doctor should cross options off the list until coming to the most likely diagnosis. A physician who skips steps or otherwise acts negligently during the process may miss a cancer diagnosis.
- Dismissing patient complaints
- Ignoring potential symptoms
- Failing to recommend the patient to a specialist
- Failing to administer the proper tests
- Misreading test results
- Failing to follow up with the patient
If a reasonable and prudent physician, specialist or radiologist would have done something differently and come to the cancer diagnosis sooner, the defendant in question might be guilty of medical malpractice. If so, you could be eligible for compensation for your medical bills, physical pain and suffering, psychological damage, lost quality of life, and other losses related to the failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis.
Do You Have a Claim?
Differentiating medical malpractice from a reasonable decision that any physician would have made in the same or similar circumstances might take assistance from an attorney. The lawyers at Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys PC have enough experience in this practice area to efficiently review cases and let clients know if they have the elements of malpractice claims.
In general, your lawyer will need to be able to prove that the physician violated a duty of care owed to you as his or her patient and that this violation caused you harm. It will not be enough to prove a negligent failure to diagnose cancer, for example, if a faster diagnosis would not have improved your situation. Your lawyer must be able to demonstrate that the failure to diagnose injured you in some way, such as reducing your odds of recovering.
Contact a Seattle Failure to Diagnose Cancer Lawyer
A medical malpractice attorney can analyze your case for signs of wrongdoing. Our lawyers may be able to help you gather proof of a failure to diagnose, such as testimony from medical experts in the same field. We can help you go up against an individual practitioner and/or health care center in Seattle in pursuit of fair compensation. With our assistance, you and your family may be able to recover for the tort of failure to diagnose cancer. Contact us today to learn more during a free initial consultation.