Prostate cancer affects African-American men differently from the rest of the population. Men of African-American descent are at higher risk of developing prostate cancer. As such, doctors generally recommend that African-American men should begin screening for prostate cancer earlier (the recommended age being 45) so as to increase the likelihood that if they do develop cancer it can be detected at an early stage while it is still curable. A doctor who does not follow the guidelines for a patient may be liable if it is later discovered that the patient had prostate cancer which progressed to an advanced stage because of the doctor's failure to screen the patient.
But beyond the guidelines, it may also be malpractice if a patient specifically request to be screened for a particular cancer and the doctor does not do so. Consider the reported case of a 41 year-old African-American male who had been involved in an ad campaign meant to raise awareness about the risk of prostate cancer in middle-aged males of African-American descent asked his doctor to screen him for the cancer.
The doctor performed a digital examination and found no abnormalities. The doctor ordered blood tests for the patient but did not include a request for a PSA test. The patient saw the doctor again two years later. The doctor again did not order a PSA test. This time the doctor did not even perform a digital examination.
What this doctor did was to give the patient a false sense of security. By performing the digital examination of the prostate and ordering blood tests the doctor left the patient with the perception that the doctor had conducted a full screening. No doubt the patient took the lack of any communication about the results to mean that the results must have been normal. This would put him at ease with respect to whatever concerns prompted him to request the screening.
Later that year the patient saw a different doctor in the same practice. This doctor performed a digital examination and order a PSA test. The patient was diagnosed with prostate cancer with bone metastasis. Although guidelines generally recommend that African-American males be screened for prostate cancer starting at age 45, in this case the patient had specifically requested to be screened at the earlier age.
The law firm that handled this matter took it to trial and achieved a $2.75 Million verdict. The defendants appealed. As the appeal was pending the parties had already reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount that was less than the original verdict. The Appeals Court subsequently denied the appeal.
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