New York Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyer

Any physician negligence that caused a delay in the diagnosis of your breast cancer may be a reason to consider seeing an attorney about a potential medical malpractice lawsuit. Some examples include: the failure to follow the proper guidelines for the screening of breast cancer, the failure of a physician to address properly the presence of a breast lump or other symptoms of breast cancer, and the failure to recognize the presence of breast cancer on a mammogram.

Yes. We are not aware of any law firm that handles more of these cases than we do. In fact, we have been the ones who for decades have been teaching other attorneys around the country how to handle these cases properly.

Simply put, we have to prove two things. First, that the failure to diagnose your breast cancer sooner was due to the malpractice (medical negligence) of one or more doctors. Second, we have to prove that if your breast cancer had been diagnosed when it should have been, your outcome would have been significantly different.

You don’t. That is our job. We are experts at analyzing what clients tell us in conjunction with the medical records. It is then our job to see whether independent medical experts believe and will testify that in their expert opinion that there was malpractice and that this significantly worsened your prognosis.

The delay has to be long enough for an expert to conclude that in your particular case such a delay mattered significantly. As a general rule, the longer the delay, the easier it is for an expert to reach such a conclusion.

In many cases, the defendant (or one of the defendants) is a clinician such as the one who performed (or should have performed) one or more of your breast examinations. This might be an obstetrician, internist, family physician or even a breast surgeon. In some cases, a radiologist is a defendant if they failed to interpret properly your mammogram or sonogram. In some cases, a pathologist is a defendant if they failed to diagnose the cancer in your surgical specimen.

Yes. Sometimes juries find that a doctor’s records were inadequate or even falsified. In a lawsuit, you would be entitled to tell the jury about your memory of that visit.

The law provides that your lawsuit would continue.

Many physicians recommend that women perform monthly breast self-exams. The best time for a woman to perform a BSE is about 7 to 10 days after the start of her menstrual period. If she is no longer menstruating, the examination should be performed on the same day of each month. It is important to note any changes from her last self-exam and to notify a physician of these changes.

In addition to routine breast examinations as part of a routine physical examination, a physician should examine breasts if the patient complains of any breast lump, change in size or shape of the breast, skin changes, or symptoms such as pain, bleeding or discharge from the nipple.

Being born a female is the main risk factor for breast cancer. Most breast cancers are diagnosed in women age 55 or older. If one or more family members were diagnosed with breast cancer, especially at a young age, you may be at a higher risk of developing breast cancer. Inheriting a mutation of the BRCA gene may also increase your risk of developing breast cancer. Other risk factors include starting menstruation before the age of 12, menopause occurring after age 55, never having given birth, or having your first child after the age of 30. The use of oral contraceptives as well as postmenopausal hormonal therapy may increase risk. Additional risk factors include prior radiation therapy to the chest, obesity, the excessive use of alcohol, and physical inactivity.

Recently, the US Preventive Services Task Force, an independent, non federal panel of public health and prevention experts appointed by the CDC director recommended that all women should get screened every other year starting at age 40.

Woman between the ages of 45 and 54 should undergo a yearly mammogram. For women 55 and older, a mammogram should be performed either yearly or every other year. Note: these recommendations apply only to screening mammograms, i.e. mammograms done when a woman has no signs or symptoms of breast cancer.

The answer is yes. Breast cancers that arise after a normal mammogram but before the next scheduled mammogram are known as “interval breast cancers.” Cancers of certain types and sizes can also be present but not visible on a mammogram, especially in women who have dense breast tissue. There are, however, malpractice cases in a which a radiologist fails to see the evidence of breast cancer that was present and visible on one or more mammograms.