subject: S2,500,000 Settlement When Doctors Ignore Symptoms Of Man With Prostate Cancer [print this page] Many people have had the experience of seeking out a second opinion on a medical problem just to learn that the doctors consulted do not agree with each other. In the event a an incorrect diagnosis could literally mean the difference between life and death this might create a serious problem for the patient. Patients generally believe that the doctor will follow up with them in the event that there are any serious findings from testing ordered by the physician. Generally, when people do not hear back from a doctor many interpret that as a sign that everything is fine and that there is no need for them to follow up with the doctor. It becomes more problematic, however, if the one doctor who is on the right track ends up not communicating his or her suspicions and the other physicians are not catching the signs and not ordering the right tests.
Consider the following reported medical malpractice claim. A number of doctors had a chance to detect the man's prostate cancer A male patient went to his family physician complaining of urinary problems. He was 56 at the time. The family physician thought that the patient's problems were not caused by cancer. Thus, the doctor did not order any diagnostic testing, for example a biopsy and failed to refer the patient to a urologist.
The patient, on his own, visited a urologist 10 months later. The urologist conducted a physical examination of the prostate and ordered a PSA blood test. The patient then found out that the urologist was not approved by his insurance and he went to a different urologist who was approved. While the blood test results came in neither the results of the test nor the first urologist's suspicion of cancer and advice that a biopsy be carried out were passed on to the patient's PCS or to his other urologist. The second urologist concluded that there were no abnormalities present with the prostate and that there was no evidence of cancer.
As such the cancer was not detected for 2 years at which time it had spread outside the prostate. By that point, the cancer had spread beyond the prostate and had metastasized. Had the cancer been diagnosed at the time the patient initially complained of urinary problems, when he saw the first urologist, or even when he saw the second urologist, it would not have yet spread and, with treatment, the patient would have had roughly 97% prospect of surviving the cancer. Given that the cancer was by now advanced , however, the patient was likely to pass away from the cancer in under 5 years. The law firm that handled this matter documented that they were able to obtain a settlement during jury selection at trial for $2.5 million on behalf of the patient.
As the case discussed above reveals, having several physicians for the same issue can result in mistakes. The first mistake consisted of not following the screening guidelines. This was an error committed by both the general practitioner as well as the second urologist. And there was the failure of communication among the various physicians. If the patient had been able to stay with the first urologist the patient would have known that the urologist suspected he had cancer and that a follow up biopsy was in order. Whether the other physicians would have agreed with that recommendation or would have passed this information to the patient if they had received it is unknown but then the error would have been entirely theirs.
