Preventable medical errors and misdiagnoses cause 200,000 to 400,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands of severe disabilities annually in the U.S. according to published studies.
In three decades as a plaintiff medical malpractice attorney, I’ve seen catastrophic cases where outcomes might have been avoided. Patients or families could have spoken up, or sought second opinions when medical problems were ignored or inadequately evaluated. These include failures in diagnostic evaluations or referrals for warranted cancer screenings.
Common scenarios involve healthcare providers failing to evaluate patients for potential cancer despite documented complaints like recurring coughs, abdominal/chest/stomach pains, shortness of breath, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, constipation, rectal bleeding or blood in stools. These are widely recognized as highly concerning for cancer.
Other situations involve healthcare providers, particularly primary care providers, failing to refer patients for recommended age-appropriate cancer screenings (e.g., breast, colon, lung, prostate).
Minority patients disproportionately suffer from these failures to adequately evaluate for cancer or refer for screenings. Therefore, I encourage patients to advocate for themselves or loved ones. This is crucial when healthcare providers, due to implicit bias, workload or other reasons, fail to promptly evaluate complaints or neglect warranted screenings.
Self-advocacy includes: (1) writing down and clearly communicating medical concerns before appointments; (2) researching reliable sources (peer-reviewed literature, reputable health websites) for symptom information; (3) seeking second or third opinions when warranted; and (4) following up or speaking up when complaints haven’t been fully evaluated and diagnosed.
Taking these steps can save lives. Many cancers are curable with excellent prognoses if diagnosed and treated early.
If you or a loved one has suffered a medical injury, including failure to timely diagnose a condition, consider reaching out to an experienced medical malpractice attorney.
Emmanuel Law Firm is part of the Metro Philadelphia Community Connect sponsored content program.
