Mineloa, New York (NewYorkInjuryNews.com) — This tale begins with a client of a trial law firm (Mary) who was always very conscientious about making sure that she did not have breast cancer, and she routinely gave herself breast examinations to detect any lumps.
One day, Mary found a newly developed lump on the upper right side of her right breast. Immediately, she made an appointment with her primary care physician and it was determined that a mammogram should be performed. She got a referral for a radiologist who did one and interpreted the results to be suspicious and therefore a biopsy was recommended for a more definitive diagnosis. However, an error was made at the radiology center. Instead of stating on the report that there was a suspicious finding it was incorrectly stated that the mass in her right breast was “probably benign”. Mary was never told the results of the mammogram and consequently not told to get a biopsy.
Nine months later, Mary, determined that the lump had grown. She went back to her primary care physician and through a series of new tests, it was discovered that the mass was cancerous and that it had developed into stage two cancer and spread to eight lymph nodes.
Mary underwent a mastectomy, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Today, she is now cancer-free, however doctors have said that since she already had that it could return. If it does return, it will be incurable and Mary will have to live with the heavy burden that her ordeal could have been lessened or avoided if it weren’t for the error in reporting.
On behalf of Mary, her prominent trial law firm sued her primary care physician, the radiologist, and the radiology center, not only for the error in reporting, but also for never providing the results of the mammogram. That nine month delay from the time of the initial diagnosis of “suspicious” to the time of the diagnosis caused the cancer to spread into the lymph nodes, and increased the chances that the cancer could return. If it returns, this time it could be fatal.
Contributor: Robert Sullivan – Renowned Long Island / New York Personal Injury Attorney handling medical malpractice, general negligence, motor vehicle and construction site accident matters.