subject: 1.25 Million Settlement In Case Claiming Physician Failed to Follow Up On Symptoms Of Colon Cancer [print this page] 1.25 Million Settlement In Case Claiming Physician Failed to Follow Up On Symptoms Of Colon Cancer
In some cases colon cancers bleed. Occasionally, the blood might be visible in the stool. IN those circumstances in which the cancer is in the vicinity of the rectum, the blood may even appear as bright red. Regardless of whether the blood cannot be seen, it may nevertheless be possible to find out that the individual is bleeding in other ways. For example, the loss of blood might manifest as anemia. Blood tests may show internal loss of blood that might be caused by a tumor in the colon. The key blood test results to check are the hemoglobin, hematocrit, and Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) levels. Low levels might signify blood loss and iron deficiency anemia. When a person is found to have levels that are low for these tests doctors commonly concur that there ought to be additional testing to discover the reason for the blood loss, including the prospect of cancer of the colon.
Look at the case of a sixty four year old man whose blood tests revealed all of the above. The next year, the man's blood work found a worsening of the patient's condition. Also, the man's stools were found to contain blood. Without any more testing, the man's doctor inserted a diagnosis of hemorrhoids into the individual's chart. In addition, the individual's PSA level (a test that is used to screen males for prostate cancer) was a 10.3 (a level above a 4.0 is often considered high and troubling for prostate cancer). The doctor did not put any report in the individual's chart to document an examination of the prostate. The physician did not relay to the patient about the high PSA levels and failed to refer the person to a specialist.
Approximately two years later the individual went to a different doctor. Because of the patient's age this physician ordered a barium enema. The result: a diagnosis of advanced colon cancer. The individual died of metastatic colon cancer within 3 years subsequent to his diagnosis. The patient's family initiated a case against the doctor who ignored the patient's abnormally low blood test results and overlooked the presence of blood in the man's stool. The law firm that represented the family reported a settlement in the case in the amount of $1,250,000
Blood tests are done for a reason. Abnormal test outcomes suggest that something may be wrong, maybe even seriously wrong with the patient and call for follow up. At times follow up means repeating the blood test within a short amount of time to see if the levels return to normal. Yet if the levels are sufficiently above or below normal levels or keep getting worse, physicians generally acknowledge that this increases the need to order appropriate supplemental tests to find out the reason behind those levels. Doctors further commonly consent that blood in the stool of an adult person mandates immediate attention to eliminate the possibility of cancer of the colon as the cause. A colonoscopy is often used to examine all the colon and either locate or exclude the presence of any tumors. This doctor did not do any of this.
Despite the fact that in general claims that settle do so without any admission of liability by defendants it makes sense that the law firm that handled this matter reported such a significant settlement.
