This year an estimated 14% of the one hundred ninety three thousand men who learn they have prostate cancer will already have advanced prostate cancer by the time the cancer is detected. With screening, including digital examinations and PSA blood tests, a number of these men could have been diagnosed when their cancer was in the early stages. A lapse of time until the cancer is advanced does not merely reduce the man's treatment options but also drastically lowers his odds of surviving the cancer. Look at the following published malpractice claim as an example.
While conducting a physical examination on a 56 year old male patient, a physician noted a small nodule on the left side of the prostate. The doctor ordered a PSA test which came back as 3.1 - typically considered to be in the normal range. The physician did nothing else at the time. Just about 3 years went by before the doctor again did a physical examination and records that there were no abnormalities felt on the prostate. This time, the doctor fails to order a PSA test. The individual consulted with by a second doctor something like 6 weeks later for an insurance mandated medical examination. This doctor ordered the test which comes back at 5.3 - elevated. The patient then contacted his regular doctor's office and was told to come back for them to do their own PSA test. This test returned a 3.5 - in normal range. The physician told the individual not to worry and that no further action needed to be taken.
Once more, almost 3 years went by before the doctor next screened the patient. The physician again records the nodule. The physician then ordered a PSA test that registered at 4.7 - high. The physician does not inform the man and takes no action on these two abnormal test results. Close to 2 years after the physical examination reveals that the prostate not only had a nodule, but was firm on the side of the nodule and was enlarged. The test at this point revealed that the level had risen to 14.1. On this occasion, the physician at last refers the patient to a Urologist who diagnoses the patient with stage 4 prostate cancer that had gotten to the bones in his pubic area and the upper part of his right leg.
An action for malpractice followed in the process of which the doctor stated that the presence of the nodule indicated an "abnormal" result. The law firm that handled this matter reported that the case was resolved for $850,000. This sum included two hundred fifty thousand dollars for non-economic damages and two hundred fifty thousand dollars for the wife's future wrongful death claim - the maximum recoverable under the laws of the state in which the lawsuit arose.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting medical malpractice cases. To learn more about metastatic prostate cancer cases get a free consultation with an attorney experienced in cancer malpractice
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