When a patient goes to see a doctor, the patient expects the best and most competent care. This is a realistic expectation for patients throughout the country, including in Texas. However, most of our readers have probably seen news stories from time to time about a negligent physician who was responsible for some type of doctor error, and those news stories usually end with the patient in a worsened condition. That is the allegation in one case out of Jefferson County, where a woman has claimed that her doctor’s failure to recognize her breast cancer and treat it properly led her to suffer personal damages.
Delayed treatment, or incorrect treatment, can have tremendously negative effects, especially in the case of a cancer diagnosis. The spread of the disease is one of the main factors treatment tries to contain, and a failure to diagnose cancer can ultimately lead to a person’s death in some cases. For the woman in this case, she alleges that after her breast cancer was diagnosed she was referred to the doctor in question, whom she claims then performed the wrong procedure for treatment. Her case is seeking compensation for a variety of expenses, including present and future medical expenses.
Although this case is now only in the discovery phase, there will come a time when the decision makers in the case will need to determine whether or not the doctor lived up to the acceptable standards for this type of diagnosis. Medical malpractice cases can be notoriously complex, sometimes appearing to be conducted in a whole other language due to the high amount of medical terms used. However, for those who believe they have been harmed due to a doctor’s negligence, it can be a comfort to know that the judicial system can provide a remedy for their concerns, and damages can assuage many of the financial implications medical negligence can bring about.
Source: The Southeast Texas Record, “Discovery starts in malpractice suit over breast cancer treatment,” David Yates, Nov. 30, 2012
