When you go to a doctor, emergency room, or specialist with concerning symptoms, you are placing your life in their hands. You trust them to order the right tests, interpret the results accurately, and provide a timely, correct diagnosis.
When a medical professional fails to diagnose a life-threatening condition like cancer or an impending heart attack, the consequences are devastating. A delayed diagnosis robs patients of the most critical factor in their survival: time.
If you or a loved one suffered severe harm or premature death because an Albany-area healthcare provider missed a critical diagnosis, the medical malpractice attorneys at Anderson, Moschetti & Taffany, PLLC are here to help. With decades of trial-tested experience and a history of multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements, we hold negligent medical professionals accountable.
Failure to Diagnose Cancer: The Importance of Lavern’s Law in NY
In cancer cases, an early diagnosis is often the difference between a treatable condition and a terminal illness and shortened life. When doctors dismiss symptoms, fail to order biopsies, or misread pathology reports, cancer is allowed to progress, spread, and metastasize.
Our firm thoroughly investigates cases involving the delayed diagnosis of:
- Breast cancer (often misdiagnosed as cysts).
- Lung cancer (frequently dismissed as bronchitis or asthma).
- Prostate and colon cancer.
- Melanoma and other skin cancers.
Understanding the Limitation in Time to Bring Suit: Historically, New York law gave patients only 2.5 years from the date of the medical error to file a malpractice lawsuit. Because cancer can grow silently for years, many patients did not discover misdiagnosis until it was too late to sue.
Thanks to “Lavern’s Law,” the statute of limitations for cancer misdiagnosis in New York has changed. Patients now have 2.5 years from the date they discover the misdiagnosis (or reasonably should have discovered it) to file a lawsuit; and up to a maximum limit of 7 years from the date the negligent act occurred.
Failure to Diagnose Heart Attacks and Strokes in the ER
Emergency room doctors in the Capital District work in high-stress, fast-paced environments. However, being busy is never an excuse for substandard care.
Tragically, patients presenting with the classic, or even atypical, signs of a heart attack or stroke are sometimes discharged from the ER with a diagnosis of:
- Heartburn, acid reflux, or indigestion.
- Anxiety or panic attacks.
- Muscle strains.
A failure to diagnose a cardiac event or stroke usually occurs because the medical staff failed to take a thorough medical history, ignored the patient’s complaints, or failed to order standard diagnostic tests like an EKG, blood work (to check for cardiac enzymes), or a CT scan. When a patient is sent home mid-heart attack, the resulting heart muscle damage or wrongful death is entirely preventable.
How We Prove a Misdiagnosis Medical Malpractice Case
Misdiagnosis does not automatically equate to medical malpractice. Medicine is complex, and some diseases are very difficult to diagnose. To win a failure to diagnose lawsuit, our attorneys must prove that your doctor deviated from the accepted standard of care, and that the deviation caused injury or death that otherwise would not have occurred.
We work with top-tier, independent medical experts to prove that a reasonably competent doctor in the same specialty—when presented with your symptoms and medical history—would have ordered the correct tests and made the proper diagnosis.
We must also prove causation: that the delay directly caused your condition to worsen, resulted in the need for more aggressive and painful treatments (such as multiple procedures instead of a simple surgery), or drastically reduced your life expectancy.
What Compensation Can You Recover?
The financial and emotional toll of a missed diagnosis is staggering. We aggressively pursue full compensation for our clients, which typically include:
- Medical Expenses: The cost of the additional, more invasive treatment required because the disease was allowed to progress.
- Lost Wages and Earning Capacity: If your condition prevents you from working or providing for your family.
- Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the physical agony, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life caused by the medical provider’s negligence.
- Wrongful Death: If you lost a family member due to a delayed diagnosis, we would file a wrongful death claim to secure financial support for your family’s future.
Demand Accountability with Anderson, Moschetti & Taffany, PLLC
Medical malpractice cases involving misdiagnosis are highly complex, vigorously defended by experienced defense attorneys, and expensive to litigate. You need a law firm with the resources, medical knowledge, and courtroom tenacity to win.
At Anderson, Moschetti & Taffany, PLLC, we handle all medical malpractice cases on a contingent fee basis. We advance all the costs for investigating your claim, hiring medical experts, and taking the case to trial. You pay absolutely no upfront fees, and we only earn a legal fee if we secure a settlement or verdict in your favor.
Take the next step to hold the negligent health care provider accountable.
Contact our Albany-area office today for a free, strictly confidential consultation:
Anderson, Moschetti & Taffany, PLLC
26 Century Hill Drive, Suite 206
Latham, NY 12110
(518) 785-4900