When Oregonian doctors tell their patients something, those patients listen and trust the information they are hearing is true. Though many times this is true, sometimes patients are told false information which can lead to delayed treatment, a worsened condition, serious injuries or death. Wrong information can be especially harmful when it involves a doctor’s diagnosis.
A woman has filed a lawsuit against her doctor after his failure to diagnose a malignant tumor found in her abdomen. The lawsuit claims the woman had surgery to treat a mass on one of her kidneys. After pathology reports came back, the woman’s doctor told her the mass was benign. Similar information was conveyed to the patient during her follow up six months later.
Two months later, after experiencing abdominal pain, the victim went to the hospital where testing discovered a large metastatic mass growing inside her abdomen. She has since filed a lawsuit against her doctor claiming he was negligent in failing to provide adequate care and for failing to inform the patient of the true nature of her condition. Sadly, this woman now faces an increased risk of cancer.
Medical malpractice can ruin an individual’s life as he or she knows it. A worsened medical condition can make it difficult to perform everyday tasks and participate in the activities one once loved. To make matters worse, treating a worsened condition can be extremely expensive, leaving a victim in a financial bind.
Luckily, Oregonians who have been injured by a medical professional’s negligence can file a lawsuit similar to the one discussed above. An attorney is often hired in these cases to provide the victim with a loud legal voice. A lawyer can use his or her legal skills in an attempt to persuade a jury that the defendant was negligent, and that negligence caused the victim’s injuries. Hopefully then the victim will obtain the compensation to which he or she is entitled, allowing him or her to pay medical expenses and ease pain and suffering.
Source: The Pennsylvania Record, “Academic Urology, physician sued for failure to detect malignant tumor in patient’s abdomen,” Jon Campisi, Feb. 5, 2014