Woman Awarded $7.7 Million in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
A New Jersey woman was awarded $7.7 million to settle a medical malpractice lawsuit just before the case went to trial. The woman was 17 when she went to her physician complaining about numbness in her leg. The doctor ordered an MRI, but the results were misread and failed to diagnose the tumor growing on her spine. Two years and numerous doctors' visits later, a second MRI did show the tumor, now wrapped tightly around the woman's spinal column. At 23, the misdiagnosed cancer patient now faces life in a wheelchair. Had the initial MRI been read correctly and the tumor detected in its early stages, the woman would have had a 95% chance of complete recovery and would, most likely, have lived a normal life.
Philadelphia physicians urge their patients to get annual checkups and regular health screenings so that cancer and serious diseases can be detected in their earliest stages when the opportunity for recovery is greatest. Cancer researchers have found that when discovered early, many forms of cancer can be successfully treated, posing little future risk to patients. Successful early removal of many cancerous tumors can effectively eliminate nearly 100% of future cancer risk. But when cancer goes undetected or misdiagnosed, malignant cells can metastasize and spread cancer throughout the body, virtually assuring an early, often painful and debilitating, death.
Failure to diagnose, misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of cancer or any serious disease in its early, treatable stages is medical malpractice. Medical malpractice suits typically involve numerous medical personnel and entities that contributed to the lack of prompt and effective care. In the New Jersey case, the woman's personal injury attorney named the woman's primary physician, orthopedic doctor, neurologist, spine and orthopedic center and radiologist as parties to the medical malpractice lawsuit.
Medical malpractice suits are complex and lengthy requiring expert investigation and litigation by an experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney.
