Dealing with litigation of a misdiagnosis of 17 mos. at 38yo

Hi there,

I am nearing the court date for my breast cancer litigation for my delayed breast cancer diagnosis, and I feel a bit stressed out over it. I don't really know what to expect with court preparation, and I haven't heard from my lawyer lately. However, my court date is quickly approaching and is Jan. 16th 2006.

With the trail arriving so soon, I emotionally feel a wreck having to face my misdiagnosis again of 17 months and the resulting damages. I thought my doctors would have settled by now. However, they have outrageoullsy denied wrong doing and have ignored settlement offers. Of course, they are guilty of error, and I am furious that they have not ony put me through a misdiagnosis with a worse prognosis but through the headache of having to drag them to court.

Oh well, I shoudln't be complaining-at least I am alive. I just wish these bone head docs would be accountable for their mistakes and settle.

Any comments on how to deal with the nervous and angry emotions of an approaching trail, and how to prepare for a successful trail itself from those who have been there? Thanks for the help in advance

Thanks,
Robin

[Kimberly Lewis]

sorry to say I have no suggestions. I am curious about your case as I have had some suggest that I sue over misdiagnosis. My tumor wasn't discovered till it was 5cm with 7/20 lymph nodes positive. I am very dissapointed after having mamo's since I was 38 - 49 now. The same film was read by another radiologist and she saw a much larger tumor. thanks for the post... kim

Hi there,
Hey, it sounds like you just might have a case. If you're going to sue, check the statue of limititations for you state and see if you still have time to sue your docs. Then can a personnel injury lawyer. A book I suggest to help you in litigation is called Sue the Bastard. You love it and it has great suggestions for suing.
Robin

[Maryanne]

Dear Guest,

I would also like to know the particulars of your case. I have had mamos since I was 40 now 53 . For almost 2 years a spot was seen on the mamo had MRI and was told it was nothing....( couldnt do a biopsy because it wouldnt for some reason show up on a sonogram is what they continually told me) one year later I am a member of this site.
Stressing over what will be only gives them one more up on you. Lawyers and courts are never easy, I wish you the best.
Maryanne

Hi,

The particulare of my case in summary;
2000 I found a breast lump and told it was only fibrocystic breast condition after an office exam, mammogram and ultrasound. 3 weeks later the same surgeon said it was still fibrocystic. I saw him again in 2001, 4months, later with the same assuring diagnosis and also told that my enlarging lump could enlarge without harm in benign fibrocystic condition. That day I also had a biospy of the lump which turned out benign. 6months later I had another office appointment and ultrasound to assure me once more that my lump was only benign and fibrocystic. 9 months later the lump was huge so I went back to the same doc and he did another biopsy and discovered the much enlarged lump was cancerous.

Later, I went back and checked my initial mammogram and it was read correctly. I have since read that in premenopausal women the false negative rate of mammography is 30% due to dense breast tissue. Besides not all cancer is shown on mammography. However,the iniial biopsy was read wrong. So I am suing for a 17 month delayed diagnosis.

[panicked911]

Dear Guest:

Take a deep breath litigation of any kind is brutal. While your January court date seems very close you still have lots of time. Whie it was not totally clear from posting, I am assumig that your court date is for trial.
Your lawyer will "prep" you the week before trial so it willbe frech in your mind. If you want to start "prepping" now you could always reread your deposition transcript.
As for settling - it is the doctors insurance carriers that make that determination and more often than mot if a case like this does settle, it will be on the eve of trial or after you present your case - that is the way it works.

I hope this is helpful. Most impotantly keep clam and focus on your health - let your layer take care of the legal aspects.

[Sandy H]

I wish you well and hope it works out for you. I am sorry to hear what has happened to you and hopfully, its not too late. The treatment will take care of it. Don't let the stress get you down as this would not be good for you. I use to work in a hospital and any law suit having to do with health care is a tough one to beat. Unless, they can prove neglegence then the patient is out of luck. I had a staple left in my mastecomy surgery for 9 months and it had grown into the bone and took some pulling for the surgeon to get it out had to use novacaine and all. I complained about the itching to my oncologist and he said it was probably scar tissue. I discovered it when I rubbed the area with my knuckle and it scratched my knuckle. I didn't complain to the surgeon as I wasn't seeing her at the time. I probably could have sued but then I had to ask myself do I want the stress of going to court, getting phone calls, cancelled court dates, added appointments, as God knows I already have plenty of those, and it be dragged out hoping I will die before it is settled. I am aware that if I did not have copies of my records at the time then, to get them after the horse is out of the barn as the saying goes then chances are they will be changed to benefit the other party of not help me. Now, I get copies of everything. They have an attorney on standby at all times when these things happen they are the first to know. I know this as fact because, I did a couple of minor things that my supervisor brought to my attention and I was told this had gone to the attorney just in case someone wanted to take it to court!! It had already been looked at and how would they handle it if it went to court. I was amazed how fast this takes place whenever something isn't done correctly. Did I get stressed out you bet. Anyway, keep us posted you have to do what you have to do and I am not saying you should not do this but be ready to hang in there and fight the battle as it will not be easy. Many times the patient will agree to most anything just to get it over with. I have had two friends that went through this. The doctors will not give in unless their attorney thinks there is a good case here, they know but you don't, and they will offer to settle otherwise they will ride it out. hugs, Sandy

Thanks for your responses. I feel calmer about things now after reading this message board. I just know that I have a good cases and things will turn out the way God wants it.

[jessica]

Hi Robin~
Sometimes I think managing the stress of this disease, and all the "stuff" is the hardest part.
So many of us on this board have experienced "disappointments" with our healthcare & providers. In fact, I'm still sitting on the fence about what to do about a situation of negligence w/my current onc. (When I started back on treatment last March, I chose to do q3week Abraxane +q3week Herceptin. At the 3rd infusion, the nurse noticed they'd only been giving me the weekly Herceptin dose-so, 1/3'rd the proper dose.We pulled the written order & "someone" altered the order, crossing out "q3week" & writing in "weekly" instead.So the dosing of the Abraxane + Herceptin was disproportionate. A followup scan showed No Response to the combo & I had to follow up w/an add'l 16 weeks of tx to get to NED).
I've hesitated in pursuing legal action b/c I have had to stay focused on treatment & healing & can't imagine the stress of pursuing litigation! BUT, I do believe something must be done. I'm just waiting til there's more space in my brain to deal with it!
We pay our doctors for the SERVICE they provide. If the SERVICE we receive is inadequate or negligent, & as a result, we are put in harms way, shouldn't we have some recourse? Absolutely!
So Robin, do what you need to do to take care of yourself...massage, hot baths, meditate...being active is always a great stress relief for me-especially being outside, walking at the park w/my dog, going to beach, etc. I also avoid certain people & things that I know will take more energy that I have to give!

Keep us posted & Keep the Faith!

ps-sounds like the burden of the negligence falls in the hands of the lab that read your initial biopsy in 2001 & returned with an incorrect path report?

Thanks Jess for the message. I agree that docs should be held accountable. However, it is a burden to us who have so much already on our plates with a cancer diagnosis. I will let you know how things turn out. I do agree with you that you got to enjoy life and take care of yourself so thanks for that suggestion and reminder!!
Robin