Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Massachusetts
lung cancer not diagnosed by primary care physician
i went to my primary care doctor on 4-7-08 complaining of coughing up a blood clot the size of a quarter and having a bad cold...primary said consider not smoking and you have a cold prescribed Bactrum a sulfur based antibiotic as i am allergic to other antibiotics....toward the fall of 08 noticed that i was weak...that i was short of breath, tho thought it was because of exertion working outside on farm...then in Dec 08 felt pain in chest often when laying down in bed...thought anxiety?? heartburn, stress ...? then in Jan 09and beginning of Feb 09 the shortness of breath was apparent and obvious when even doing minor things, with very weak in legs feeling, lots of sharp pain in chest during some days...called primary...found out no longer working there...referred to other doctor who immediately had an xray done..and did question first doctors neglect in doing that...xray showed large mass on left lung...on 3-16-09 had major surgery to remove large part of lung to remove 4.4 cm tumor that was cancerous, will begin chemotherapy shortly!yesterday oncologist told me that this form of cancer was totally treatable if it had been properly detected early!
my question is...do i have a case against the doctor who said you have a cold????
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: lung cancer not diagnosed by primary care physician
I am extremely sorry to hear about this. I would be happy to talk to you, and to learn more, in order to see if you have a case. Call if you would like to talk it out. Thanks.
Chris Earley
Re: lung cancer not diagnosed by primary care physician
You may quite well have claims. This office provides free initial consultations for those injured by the acts of health care providers.
Re: lung cancer not diagnosed by primary care physician
Failure to promptly diagnose and treat cancer can clearly be the basis for a medical malpractice claim. Your question indicates that your own physician suggested that it would have been better to have diagnosed the cancer promptly when you complained. Of course, the type of lung cancer, your current prognosis, and other factors must be considered in evaluating your case and the best course of action to take. Your question suggests that further investigation is justified.
Re: lung cancer not diagnosed by primary care physician
As the others have indicated, your sad and unfortunate situation deserves further exploration and analysis. While clearly you need to be focussed on getting as healthy now as possible, taking steps to preserve and prosecute any claims for negligence will not be too time consuming on, hopefully, draining on you and your condition. WHile money can't make you healthy again all by itself, it is important that this doctor and others learn there is a price to pay when their carelessness causes someone serious health concerns.
Feel free to contact me directly for a free initial office consultation, without obligation to you.
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