Family Of Woman Who Died Of Advanced Colorectal Cancer File $2,000,000 Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Doctors
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-11-22 19:45:10 | Word Count: 704
While a colonoscopy is generally suggested as a screening tool for colorectal cancer for individuals who are 50 years old and older, doctors usually acknowledge that reports of rectal bleeding by a patient merit ordering a colonoscopy regardless of the age of the patient. Regardless of whether a colonoscopy or a sigmoidoscopy is actually performed, though, if poor preparation or an obstruction prevent the doctor to fully explore the area, physicians normally recommendedthat it ought to be done again. This article considers a wrongful death matter which alleged that both a family practicioner and a gastroenterologist failed to follow these practices.
In this example, a woman complained to her physician that she was having constipation and noticed rectal bleeding during a 5 week period. This went on for one more month. She was forty six years old at the time. Her doctor scheduled her for a sigmoidoscopy. She was seen the following month by a gastroenterologist. The gastroenterologist wrote down that the referral was due to bleeding and constipation. But, the gastroenterologist only did a sigmoidoscopy instead of a colonoscopy. A sigmoidoscopy just allows the physician look at up to 40 cm from the anus. Although the sigmoidoscopy just permits examination of a limited portion of the colon, the physician documented that the proceedure was not finished and that it had not been possible to examine the full length even of the sigmoid. Despite the poor visualization, the gastroenterologist failed to suggest that the test be repeated in order to properly visualize the sigmoid.
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Five months later, the woman again saw her primary care physician for a yearly physical. She again told the doctor that she was suffering from constipation. The next year, for the third time she explained to her physician that she was having constipation. A brief time after one visit the doctor documented that the patient's daughter spoke to the physician about her and the doctor suggested she eat more fiber for irritable bowel syndrome. The doctor also indicated to the patient's daughter that he would contemplate obtaining a colonoscopy at some point in the future.
At the end of the year, she once more informed her doctor that she continued to experience constipation. The physician advised she take lactulose and return in a month. When the woman returned as scheduled, the physician noted that a physical examination revealed tenderness in the lower left quadrant and that he could feel a structure consistent with stool in her colon. Finally, the doctor had her thyroid checked and made an entry that he thought a colonoscopy might be required.
Roughly 2 weeks afterward, the patient ended up in the emergency room when she developed pain and vomiting as she was prepping for a colonoscopy. The emergency room doctor discovered that she had a distended abdomen and could hear hyperactive bowel sounds. She also had abdominal tenderness, mostly on the lower left. Given these symptoms the hospital doctor ordered a CT scan. The scan found a mass in the sigmoid with metastasis. After 2 weeks, she underwent surgery to take out the mass which was 4.2 cm. The surgeon determined that her cancer had metastasized throughout various organs. She started chemotherapy for advanced colorectal cancer. The woman did not survive. She died a bit over 4 months following her surgery.
Her family pursued a wrongful death lawsuit against her primary care physician and the gastroenterologist. The law firm that handled the matter was able to resolve the case with a settlement in the amount of $2.0 million on behalf of the family. The law restricts the time you have to pursue a lawsuit so if a family member died of metastatic cancer and you believe they were the victim of medical malpractice you ought to contact an attorney right away to determine whether you may have a valid case.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting delayed diagnosis cases. You can learn more about cases involving colon cancer metastasis and other cancers including prostate cancer by visiting the websites
