Doctor And Patient Agree To Settle Prostate Cancer Medical Malpractice Claim For $500,000
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-11-19 23:21:22 | Word Count: 677
There are screening tests that are recommended by doctors to discover prostate cancer in men prior to symptoms appearing. Nevertheless, regardless of whether a doctor tests a male patient the tests are meaningless if the physician fails to inform the patient, follow up with a referral to a urologist or do further testing if the results were abnormal. This can cause a delay in detecting the man's cancer and a deteriorating of the man's Look at the following review of a reported claim of a patient diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. This happened even though his physician had test results that were highly suspicious of cancer for between one to three years before the man's diagnosis. The lawsuit involved the allegation of a lapse of time of from one and three years in diagnosing the man's prostate cancer.
A doctor saw a man for a physical examination. Due to the male's age, the doctor carried out a physical examination of his prostate and noted that it was slightly firm on the left. A hardening of the prostate may be as a result of cancer. The PSA, however, came back 2.35 (a reading generally thought to be to be within the normal limits). Virtually two years afterward, the male went back for another physical. The physician at this point documented no abnormalities with the prostate but the PSA test came back 4.18. This is high and shows nearly a doubling of the previous reading. Furthermore this reading was nearly double that of the man's PSA from two years earlier. However, the doctor had not told the patient that there were abnormal prostate cancer screening test results that were that raised suggested he had cancer, had not sent the man to a Urologist, and had not ordered any diagnostic testing (such as a biopsy) to verify whether the abnormal test results were due to cancer or to a benign reason. It was three years following the initial finding that the man's physician finally referred him to a Urologist (who found the cancer) after a PSA of 6.8.
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By the time of the diagnosis, it turned out the the man's prostate cancer spread outside the gland. The man pursued a lawsuit against his family doctor for the delayed diagnosis of the cancer. The physician, though, argued that he had not received a copy of the PSA test. Consequently, the physician asserted that he was not aware of the rise in the man's PSA. The doctor additionally argued that the delay in finding the cancer did not cause an injury to the patient.
The law firm that represented the patient published that a settlement was achieved with the physician. The settlement took place more than seven years following the patient's diagnosis and he had not experienced a recurrence of the cancer in that time. The reported sum of the settlement was $500,000.
The material in this article is not intended to be taken as either medical or legal advice. the preceding is only meant to be basic information. If you have any health issues consult with a doctor without delay.
The outcome of this matter upholds the observation that in case a physician fails to inform the patient or do further testing in the face of abnormal test results and the ensuing lapse of time permits a person's disease and prospects to deteriorate that doctor may be faced with a medical malpractice claim. If you learned you have prostate cancer metastasis and think your doctor failed to inform you or take action when tests that indicated the chance that you had cancer you ought to consult with an attorney.
Author Resource:-
Mr. Hernandez is an attorney accepting medical malpractice and wrongful death cases. To get more information prostate cancer and other cancer matters including breast cancer metastasis visit the websites
