How Staging Delay Affects Your Case

Delayed diagnosis is an all-too-common type of medical malpractice in Chicago and elsewhere. Fortunately, most cases of delayed diagnosis don’t cause fatality; for instance, when a doctor’s delay in diagnosing bronchitis causes a worsened condition that’s quickly corrected after an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. But what about a delayed diagnosis of cancer, or a dangerous delay in ordering the appropriate test to determine the stage of the cancer? A staging delay in a cancer case is medical malpractice and can cause more advanced disease.

What Are the Effects of a Staging Delay In a Cancer Case?

Many types of cancer are effectively treated in their earliest stages. For instance, diagnosing breast cancer while the tumor is small, localized, and not yet metastasized to nearby lymph nodes means it’s highly curable with a minimally invasive lumpectomy and follow-up treatment. However, delaying the diagnosis until stage two means that cancer cells have migrated into nearby lymph nodes, dramatically increasing the risk of mortality and requiring far more aggressive treatment.

A staging delay in a cancer diagnosis is serious, actionable medical malpractice if the delay occurred due to a provider’s failure to correctly diagnose the cancer, failure to order the appropriate diagnostic tests to determine the stage of the cancer, or failure to accurately interpret diagnostic test results.

Understanding Cancer Stages In Medical Malpractice Cases

Most cancers begin as a cluster of rapidly dividing cells that either form a tumor or invade the bloodstream. During stage one, the cancer is localized and still contained within the tumor. Removing the tumor is typically curative. However, any cancer diagnosis must be followed by staging the cancer. This requires first tracking lymph drainage from the tumor site to find the appropriate local lymph nodes and removing one or more nodes for testing. Depending on the results of this test, additional tests may be required for accurate staging. Cancer stages are as follows:

• Stage 1 cancer: the cancer is localized and contained. Cancer cells have not yet entered the lymphatic system.
• Stage 2 cancer: cancer cells were found in the lymph nodes, indicating that the cells have migrated from the initial site and entered the lymphatic system.
• Stage 3 cancer: cancer cells have been found in distant lymph nodes, indicating metastasis throughout the lymphatic system beyond the local lymph nodes.
• Stage 4 cancer: the cancer has metastasized, or spread beyond the initial site to one or more additional organs, such as the lungs, liver, or brain.

Treatment becomes more aggressive as cancer progresses, requiring more extensive surgeries and more powerful drugs with increased dangerous side effects. Long-term survival becomes less likely with each cancer stage as the disease advances.

Proving Medical Malpractice For a Cancer Staging Delay

When a staging delay occurs in a cancer case, the cancer may metastasize, causing decreased chances of survival or shortened life expectancy. Staging delays caused by a doctor or facility’s failure to order the appropriate diagnostic tests or failure to accurately interpret test results are a serious violation of the medical community’s standard of care. Proving medical malpractice for a staging delay requires evidence demonstrating the following:

• A doctor/patient relationship was in place at the time the malpractice occurred
• The medical provider owed a legal duty to treat the patient at the medical community’s accepted care standard
• The provider breached this duty of care
• The breach of duty caused harm to the patient
• The patient suffered damages from the harm, such as increased medical costs, more aggressive treatment requirements, or shortened life expectancy

If a loved one died due to delayed cancer staging, the close surviving family could recover compensation through a wrongful death medical malpractice claim in Chicago.

Although a successful medical malpractice claim doesn’t erase the harm caused by a staging delay in your case, it brings a sense of justice, relieves related financial hardship, and opens doors to the best possible care.