$2.5 Million Claim For Colon Cancer Death Of 27 Year Old After Physician Dismissed Her Complaints

Less than 1% people diagnosed with colon cancer are under the age of thirty-five

. But, given the fact that colon cancer can kill physicians usually acknowledge that the presence of rectal bleeding, even in an individual below 35, should be investigated by a colonoscopy so as to verify the source of the bleeding Just assuming that the blood is caused by hemorrhoids falls below the standard of care.

Consider what occurred in a documented claim regarding a woman who complained to her family doctor that she noticed blood in her stool and experienced pain when having bowel movements. She was only twenty four years old. The doctor, justwithout even doing an examination, told her to take a laxative after deciding that she had diarrhea and other bowel problems. The woman went back after 4 months claiming she had constipation, pain and problems sitting. This time the doctor at last examined her but told her she had hemorrhoids. His treatment: an enema. The woman went back to the physician on 2 additional occasions and every time was told she only had hemorrhoids and she had nothing to worry about.

She had to be rushed to an emergency room because of extreme pain seven months after her original visit to her primary care physician. They set her up for a colonoscopy and was found to have advanced colorectal cancer. The woman had surgery (which because of the advanced nature of the cancer required not just taking out part of her colon but also of her uterus and part of the lower intestines). The surgery was later followed by chemotherapy. The cancer returned and the woman died in under three years. Her husband and minor daughter survived her.

The law firm that represented the family reported that a jury awarded the family a sum of $2,500,000. The award included the maximum of $350,000 allowed for pain and suffering under the law of the State where the physician practices. The rest of the award was for future lost wages. This case is just one example of what might be the most common medical mistake concerning a delay in the diagnosis of colon cancer.

When a matter like that described above occurs and the patient dies for the reason that the cancer progressed to where it was no longer curable as a consequence of the delay in diagnosis the surviving family may be able to bring a case against the doctor responsible for the delay.

by: Joseph Hernandez

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