Oregon Radiology Errors in Diagnosing Cancer

The diagnosis of cancer is devastating to any individual. According to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 1,806,590 people were diagnosed in the year 2020 alone, with an estimated 606,520 people dying from the disease. While some types of cancers can be quite deadly, early detection can make all the difference for many cases. One type of testing that is commonly performed is radiology testing. While most radiology testing is done properly, Oregon radiology errors in diagnosing cancer could be due to medical malpractice.

 

Radiology testing involves performing scans such as CT scans, MRIs, etc. to detect the presence of cancer or another illness causing the patient’s symptoms. Radiologists play a key role in diagnosing patients cancer. However, when they fail to diagnose a patient’s cancer or diagnose them with something else entirely, this can be the difference of life or death for these patients. When this occurs, it is considered to be medical malpractice.

 

Radiologists and Their Role in Diagnosing Cancer

 

As mentioned above, radiologists play a key role in the diagnosis of cancer. While they may not be patient facing, it is their job to read the scans that are performed and is their responsibility to report to the patient’s physician the findings. Examples of scans that radiologists read include the following:

 

• MRI
• CT scan
• Bone Scan
• PET scan
• X-ray
• Ultrasound

 

These are just a few of the many types of scans radiologists read and perform every day to diagnose patients with cancer or other conditions. 

 

How Can Radiologists Make Errors, Leading to Patient Harm?

 

There are many ways that a radiologist can cause great harm to a cancer patient without ever even physically touching them. Examples of these include the following:

 

• Failing to identify cancer on a scan
• Misinterpreting scan results
• Providing the wrong diagnosis, diagnosing the patient with something more benign
• Delay in identification of cancer, leading to a poorer prognosis or even patient death
• Using too much radiation or failing to use appropriate patient protection, leading to patient harm
• Performing the scan incorrectly, leading to patient harm
• Identification of the cancer, but failing to fully communicate the results to the physician, or failing to fully identify the extent of the cancer
• Diagnosing the patient with the wrong type of cancer, leading to unnecessary treatment and a delay in treatment for the type of cancer the patient actually has
• Delay in communicating results to the patient’s treating physician

 

These are just a few of the many ways in which radiologists can greatly harm cancer patients with their errors. These kinds of errors can occur for many reasons. It may be due to an inexperienced radiologist interpreting the scan, but may also be due to carelessness. Whatever the case may be, either of these lead to patient harm and potentially even patient death. 

 

Patients depend on all physicians (radiologists included) to provide them the best possible care to treat their illness. When these patients are harmed by radiologists, it can literally lead to a loss of life or more aggressive treatment may be required due to the advancing cancer that was not detected at an earlier stage due to an error made. These errors should never happen, and are due to medical malpractice. 

 

Ask Our Oregon Radiology Errors in Diagnosing Cancer Lawyer For Help

 

If you or a loved one have been seriously injured or killed as a result of medical malpractice contact the Oregon Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Kuhlman Law at our number below or fill out the intake form.  We offer a free initial case evaluation and handle cases on a contingency fee which means that you pay no money unless we recover.

 

Our law firm handles cases throughout the state including Bend and Portland Oregon, Redmond, Central Oregon, Sisters, Madras, Multnomah County, Deschutes County, Salem, Eugene, Corvallis, Lane County, Medford, Gresham, La Grande, Albany, Medford, Beaverton, Umatilla, Pendleton,  Cottage Grove, Florence, Oregon City, Springfield, Keizer, Grants Pass, McMinnville, Tualatin, West Linn, Forest Grove, Wilsonville, Newberg, Roseburg, Lake Oswego, Klamath Falls, Happy Valley, Tigard, Ashland, Milwakie, Coos Bay, The Dalles,  St. Helens, Sherwood, Central Point, Canby, Troutdale, Hermiston, Silverton, Hood River, Newport, Prineville, Astoria, Tillamook, Lincoln City, Hillsboro, and Vancouver, Washington.

 

We also have an office in Minneapolis, Minnesota and take medical malpractice cases throughout the Twin Cities, including St. Paul, Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Dakota County, Washington County, Anoka County, Scott County, Blaine, Stillwater, and Saint Paul Minnesota.