Three Case Studies in Cancer Misdiagnosis

When our medical malpractice lawyers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey speak with someone who has experienced a cancer misdiagnosis, the specifics are especially heartbreaking as time is of the essence when someone is battling a terminal illness.

Experts report that about 13 million people a year experience a cancer misdiagnosis. This medical malpractice mistake is always financially, physically and emotionally costly.

What’s more:

  • One out of every 70 cancer tissue samples tested nationwide are misdiagnosed, according to research conducted by The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
  • Up to one in five cancer cases are misdiagnosed.
  • And as many as 98,000 patients die each year in the United States because of medical mistakes, according to the Institute of Medicine.

If you live in New Jersey or Pennsylvania and feel you’ve been the victim of a mistaken cancer diagnosis, please call the medical malpractice attorneys at Wapner Newman today to schedule a free consultation.

Three Shocking Cancer Misdiagnosis Cases

Case Study No. One: Prostate Cancer Misdiagnosis

Maryland resident Frank Barerra reportedly learned about his bad prostate cancer diagnosis at the very last minute. Barerra, who was 48 at the time, says that he was moments away from having his prostate removed when a second biopsy revealed the diagnostic mistake. “It was like waking up from a bad dream,” Barerra told ABC News. “It never occurred to me that a pathology lab could just bungle a decision like that.” The upshoot of Barerra’s case is that patients are now urged to seek biopsy result confirmation from a second or third pathologist.

“I advise my patients to go to the top (medical center) in the region,” New York University Pathology Professor Marc Siegel told CNN about seeking second and third cancer diagnoses. “There’s more scrutiny, there’s more structure (and) there’s more vigilance at the top medical centers.”

Case Study No. Two: Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis

According to The Journal Times, for Linda McDougal of St. Paul, Minn., the realization that a breast cancer misdiagnosis, or that “a tragic mistake” had occurred, as hospital officials put it, happened after she had already undergone a double mastectomy that resulted in multiple infections and more surgeries to correct the problem. Her doctor had told her that she had an aggressive form of breast cancer, so she opted for what turned out to be unnecessary surgery. Similar to the first case study outlined above, a pathologist was responsible for a paperwork glitch that led to McDougal’s victimization.

Case Study No. Three: Tennis Elbow Misdiagnosis

In a third tragic case, British national Jill Goodrum of Plymouth, England, lost precious time in her breast cancer battle after her general practitioner initially diagnosed the woman with tennis elbow. She had been struggling to lift her arms, and only returned to her GP two years later when she found a breast lump. At that time, she was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer which had spread to her liver and that it was incurable as it was so advanced. She died of septicemia during chemotherapy at age 46, leaving five children.

Call Us for Help After a Misdiagnosis

The experienced Philadelphia misdiagnosis lawyers at Wapner Newman understand how devastating the consequences of a misdiagnosis can be. Our medical malpractice attorneys in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are entirely devoted to helping victims of misdiagnosis of cancer and other deadly illnesses recover the damages they will need to pay for medical treatment and to restore their quality of life.

If you live in Pennsylvania or New Jersey and have suffered the consequences of a misdiagnosis or a misdiagnosed or delayed cancer diagnosis, please call Wapner Newman at (215) 569-0900 today to schedule a free initial consultation. We represent medical malpractice victims throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with offices in Philadelphia, West Conshohocken, Allentown, and Marlton.