Medical malpractice occurs when a medical practitioner does not care for a patient according to the regular standard of medical care and the patient is injured because of the physician’s negligence. Many claims of medical malpractice surround the issues of misdiagnosed or undiagnosed conditions, since an incorrect diagnosis means that the necessary treatments will not be utilized. In the case of prostate cancer, if it is diagnosed and treated early on, the recovery is usually very successful. The complications that can follow if it progresses undiagnosed are very severe. However, how do you know if your situation warrants pursuing a medical malpractice claim?
Symptoms and Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer
Because prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in men, it is important to maintain routine check-ups so that any concerns can be dealt with immediately to prevent the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body. Symptoms of prostate cancer, in the early stages, can be very mild to nonexistent and so it can be challenging to diagnose without proper medical screening. Some of the symptoms that are often experienced in prostate cancer include:
- Difficultly passing urine
- Blood in urine and/or semen
- Swelling in legs
- Pelvic area pain and/or discomfort
If you have any of the above symptoms and are concerned that you may have prostate cancer, then your medical practitioner should be listening to your concerns and begin performing the proper testing.
Duty to Standard of Care
Everyone who works in the medical field is supposed to follow a certain standard for how patients are to be cared for and it is the medical practitioner’s duty to uphold that standard at all times. When a medical practitioner fails to adhere to that standard, they acting in a negligent manner and their patient(s) may be put at risk for injury. Undiagnosed prostate cancer, that should have been tested for and treated, is a case for negligence and the medical practitioner that should have diagnosed the case can be charged with medical malpractice.
Proving Negligence
For negligence to be considered medical malpractice, it must be proven that the practitioner’s negligence directly caused the complications that followed. For example, if you went in to the doctor’s office with some of the symptoms of prostate cancer and the physician decided to not suggest cancer screening tests or misread the results, when you did in fact have prostate cancer, then his/her negligence would be medical malpractice. The negligence of the physician in not correctly diagnosing the prostate cancer caused you to not get the medical treatments needed and put you through unnecessary pain, stress and possibly required you to undergo expensive treatments that would not have been necessary if the cancer have been diagnosed early on.
Getting Legal Help
It can be difficult to know if your case is truly medical malpractice, but it is always a good idea to consult with a knowledgeable attorney if you have any concerns about the medical treatment or lack thereof that you have received. An attorney can help you determine if legal action is realistic and ensure that you are compensated for the injuries you have been caused by the medical malpractice.
