Physician Reaches Settlement In Medical Malpractice Claim After Not Notifying Patient Of High And Rising PSA Test Results
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-10-07 22:49:29 | Word Count: 517
This year about fourteen percent of the 193,000 men diagnosed with prostate cancer will already have advanced prostate cancer when they are diagnosed. With screening, including digital examinations and PSA blood tests, a number of these men could have been diagnosed when their cancer was in the early stages. A delay until the cancer is advanced not only limits the man's treatment options but also greatly lowers his chances of surviving the cancer. Consider the following published lawsuit to illustrate.
While doing a physical examination on a 56 year old male patient, a physician noted a small nodule on the left part of the prostate. The doctor ordered a PSA test the results of which showed the level to be 3.1 - or within normal range. The physician did nothing else at the time. Almost 3 years went by. The physician once more did a physical examination and documents that there were no abnormalities felt on the prostate. This time, the doctor fails to order a PSA test. The patient saw by a different doctor something like six weeks later as part of an insurance mandated medical examination. This physician ordered a PSA test which registered at 5.3. This is considered high. The individual then consulted with his regular doctor's practice and was told to come back for them to take their own PSA test. This test returned a 3.5 - within normal range. The doctor told the patient not to worry and that no further action needed to be taken.
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Again, almost three years passed until the doctor next screened the patient. The doctor again records the nodule. The physician then ordered a PSA test that registered at 4.7 - high. The doctor fails to notify the patient and takes no action on these 2 abnormal test results. Close to 2 years later the physical examination reveals that the prostate not only had a nodule, but was firm on the side of the nodule and was enlarged. The PSA test now revealed that the leve had risen to 14.1. This time, the physician finally refers the patient to a Urologist who diagnoses the patient with stage 4 prostate cancer that had gotten to the bones around pubic area and the upper portion of his right leg.
A medical malpractice suit followed in the process of which the physician verfied that the presence of the nodule was an "abnormal" finding. The law firm that represented the man and his wife reported that the matter was resolved for a total amount of $850,000. This sum included $250,000 for non-economic damages and $250,000 for the wife's future wrongful death claim - the maximum recoverable under the laws of the state where the lawsuit arose.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an attorney accepting cancer malpractice cases. To learn about prostatecancer and other cancer matters including advanced breast cancer visit the websites
