Cancer misdiagnosis can occur because of hospital error. The Houston Chronicle reported the story of a 35-year-old woman who has filed a medical malpractice claim against a hospital after a mix-up in biopsy results. Essentially, she was told she had cancer when her biopsy, in fact, revealed she did not. The woman not only suffered from emotional distress, but also underwent unnecessary surgery to have a lump and lymph node removed. It wasn’t until days later that she was told she did not have cancer at all. Unfortunately, a label with the woman’s name on it had been put on the tissue sample of a different patient (who did have cancer). As a result of the unnecessary surgery, the woman’s breast was severely scarred, and, she is currently in psychological counseling for the physical and emotional trauma she has gone through.
While no harm was intended by the hospital, misdiagnosis can sometimes occur because hospital employees are negligent, and, do not follow proper hospital procedure. Failing to do something as routine as double checking a label to make sure it matches the correct patient’s tissue sample can result in significant harm to the patient.
If you are a victim of misdiagnosis, or a failure to diagnose or timely diagnose cancer, you may be entitled to bring a medical malpractice claim. The attorneys at Blume Forte have both the experience and resources to investigate and successfully pursue your cancer misdiagnosis claim. Call us at 973-845-4421 to schedule a no-cost consultation regarding your possible case, and, we will evaluate whether there was any negligence involved in your medical care and testing.