Being diagnosed with cancer is a frightening and stressful experience. But finding out that a doctor delayed your cancer diagnosis can be even more frustrating. Misdiagnosis or a delayed cancer diagnosis can potentially impact your life expectancy, which is why doctors who make negligent mistakes when providing medical care must be held accountable.
You need a medical malpractice attorney to help you sue the doctor who misdiagnosed you or failed to diagnose your cancer in a timely manner.
4 Elements of Medical Malpractice When Suing for Delayed Cancer Diagnosis
A delayed cancer diagnosis may result in a delay in receiving the medical treatment that could improve your chances of survival. For people with cancer, the sooner they receive the correct diagnosis, the more treatment options are available to them. Fewer treatment options as a result of delayed diagnosis can reduce a patient’s life expectancy, which is why it is important to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor who delayed a diagnosis.
In Florida, you need to establish four elements of medical malpractice in order to sue a doctor and recover damages. These elements are:
- Duty of care. The doctor owed you a duty of care. This can be established by proving that a doctor-patient relationship existed.
- Breach of duty. You need to demonstrate evidence that the doctor failed to adhere to the applicable standards of care when they delayed your cancer diagnosis. In legal terms, this is known as the breach of the duty of care.
- Causation. You need to prove a link between the breach and your injury.
- Damages. Finally, you need to show evidence to prove that you suffered actual damages because of the delayed diagnosis.
It is advised to contact a Lakeland medical malpractice lawyer to help you prove that your doctor deviated from the accepted standards of care when they failed to diagnose your cancer in a timely manner.
Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer on Your Side
Medical professionals owe their patients a duty to diagnose their condition as soon as possible by using their experience, knowledge, and medical tools such as CT scans, MRIs, and many other tests. A doctor’s failure to diagnose cancer in a timely manner can reduce the patient’s chances of survival.
When a doctor fails to diagnose cancer when any other reasonably prudent medical professional would have diagnosed cancer under similar circumstances, they can be sued for medical malpractice. If you become a victim of delayed cancer diagnosis, you should seek legal assistance from a medical malpractice lawyer to get the maximum compensation.
You need an experienced medical malpractice attorney to help you:
- gather all necessary evidence;
- establish the four elements of medical malpractice;
- hire expert witnesses;
- calculate how much your claim is worth; and
- prepare your case for trial while negotiating a fair settlement.
A delayed cancer diagnosis or misdiagnosis can be a question of life and death. That is why doctors must ensure that their patients receive the highest available standard of medical care when diagnosing cancer and other conditions. Contact our Lakeland medical malpractice attorney at The Turnbull Firm to investigate your particular case and help you sue your doctor for delaying the diagnosis of cancer. Call at 863-324-3500 to receive a consultation.
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