Delayed Diagnosis Lawsuit: Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer is a potentially fatal form of cancer that affects any part of the large bowel including the colon or rectum. It is sometimes called carcinoma of the bowel, bowel cancer, colon cancer or rectal cancer, depending on where the cancer starts. A delayed diagnosis lawsuit may be brought in situations where the patient was harmed as a direct result of a delayed diagnosis.

Delayed diagnosis lawsuit: colorectal cancer

When a patient describes symptoms of a history of rectal bleeding and changes in bowel habits, possibly paired with weight loss and abdominal pain, the doctor would generally be expected to refer the patient to a colon and rectal surgeon after performing an initial examination. Under normal circumstances, the surgeon would perform a basic and more advanced exam before ordering additional tests.

The health care provider may have acted negligently if he or she breached their duty of care to the patient by failing to refer the patient to a specialist or failing to order follow-up tests that would have led to a timely diagnosis, for example. An experienced medical malpractice attorney will set out to answer whether the health care provider performed below the standard of care expected of a competent physician under similar circumstances. If the answer is yes then a medical negligence claim may be brought.

Types of delayed colorectal cancer diagnosis claims brought to recover damages:

• Failure to consider patient’s medical history when diagnosing
• Failure to perform a proper examination
• Failure to refer patient to specialist for more investigation
• Failure to order necessary tests
• Failure to interpret test results accurately
• Failure to communicate test results
• Mistaken colorectal cancer diagnosis
• Misdiagnosis

If you believe that your loved one lost their life or was adversely affected due to a failure to diagnose colorectal cancer, please contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. He or she will assess the circumstances and discuss your legal rights. The attorney may be able to fight for justice on your behalf by holding the negligent medical professional accountable through a settlement.

Why is a delayed diagnosis of colorectal cancer so dangerous?

Timely treatment is absolutely critical to curing cancer but treatment is not possible without a diagnosis. The other issue is that the type of treatment recommended depends on the stage and location of the tumor; common colorectal treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

When diagnosed early, the survival rate for colorectal cancer is fairly high. A successful medical malpractice lawsuit will prove that the delayed diagnosis affected the patient outcome in a negative way such as when the cancer progressed to a more advanced stage or caused the cancer to spread to other parts of the body that then required more invasive treatment, a serious decline in health or even wrongful death.

The Seattle personal injury attorneys at Morrow Kidman Tinker Macey-Cushman, PLLC have years of experience representing families harmed by medical malpractice and other types of negligence. We seek justice for patients who have been harmed by preventable medical errors including birth injuries, hospital-acquired infections and wrongful death in Seattle and across Washington State. There are no fees or expenses to file a personal injury case as we only receive payment if we recover damages on your behalf. Do not delay; personal injury claims come with a Statute of Limitations, which means they must be filed within a certain time frame of the injury.

Call us now at (206) 752-4366 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with one of our compassionate, experienced attorneys.