Category: Legal Malpractice

No West Palm Beach medical malpractice attorney would expect an oncologist to perfectly diagnose every patient. In fact, cancer treatment is difficult, complicated, and uncertain. The vast majority of cancer doctors devote their lives to treating and helping patients to the best of their ability.

However, when doctors or oncologists misdiagnose patients by failing to follow standard protocol or by acting in a lazy, reckless or careless fashion, the consequences for the patient can be devastating.

Why Does Cancer Misdiagnosis Happen?

• Lack of “whole patient” examination – In a rush to see as many patients as possible – or perhaps to take care of paperwork or get out of the office – a doctor may fail to examine the patient “as a whole” and thus may miss crucial clues that indicate a positive diagnosis or a resurgence of cancer thought to have been contained.
• The wrong tool for the job – Certain tools and techniques are appropriate for certain kinds of cancer diagnosis but not others. If a doctor fails to apply proper diagnostic protocol, he or she may use the wrong technology and fail to spot a scary malignant growth.
  Diagnosing the wrong type of cancer – Your course of treatment depends intimately on the type of cancer you have as well as other dynamic factors such as how and where the cancer is growing.
• Diagnostic delay – Delay in proper diagnosis can stem from all sorts of factors, from logistical (e.g., your doctor just “didn’t have time” to see you) to errors of judgment (e.g., your doctor “thought you would be fine” to wait three to six months after the first signs of potential trouble).

The Next Steps to Take

If you need help understanding your rights and responsibilities under the law, connect with a West Palm Beach medical malpractice attorney at the law offices of Craig Goldenfarb.

A West Palm Beach malpractice attorney can provide tools, investigative resources, and experience to help patients and their families determine whether malpractice has occurred.

But do you really need a lawyer to make this assessment? Can you “self-diagnose” Florida malpractice and handle your situation on your own?

Identifying possible malpractice: opportunities and traps

Prior to the web, patients had few resources to help them question their diagnoses. Today, however, you can hop online and visit patient forums focused on conditions that range from tendonitis to ocular cancer. You can share stories and concerns with other patients and medical professionals. This can be a wonderful thing. You can find insights that you’d never have discovered on your own. For instance, you might discover an article that leads you to question certain lab test results. Or you might find negative reviews of your doctor or medical laboratory online. If you do suspect that “something strange is going on” with your diagnosis of your treatment, by all means, seek help and take action.

On the other hand, researching on the Internet can be misleading. You could self-diagnose incorrectly and thus either delay getting the right treatment or engage in a treatment that’s entirely unnecessary, perhaps even harmful. At the end of the day, always consult with a qualified physician. Your doctor should understand and listen to you and provide the skills and tools to help you make progress.

And just as you should never self-diagnose your medical conditions, so, too, you should you never self-diagnose malpractice. Fortunately, you don’t have to do this; a skilled Florida malpractice attorney can be a strong ally. The team at the Law Offices of Craig Goldernfarb, PA, can help you determine whether you have a case.