Oncology Malpractice

Unfortunately, oncology errors are alarmingly common. These mistakes can have devastating consequences for a patient’s life. If you have suffered harm due to any type of mistake made by your oncologist, you may be able to recover compensation for your injuries. Our Baltimore medical malpractice lawyers understand how to gather evidence in your case and build a claim on your behalf. We know that dealing with a serious health condition is hard enough without having to experience oncology malpractice on top of that, which is why we will zealously fight for your rights.

Oncology is the area of medicine that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. As such, an oncologist is a physician who diagnoses and provides medical care to cancer patients. Early diagnosis of cancer is crucial. If a doctor fails to diagnose a patient in a timely manner, the patient is deprived of the chance to start treatment. Delayed treatment, in such cases, can make the patient’s condition worse and even lead to the patient’s death.

Oncology errors can happen in a number of ways. In some cases, the oncologist may not have ordered the appropriate test or may have failed to interpret a study correctly, leading to a missed diagnosis or misdiagnosis. In other cases, oncologists accurately diagnose cancer but fail to provide treatment in adherence with the standard of care. Other mistakes include, but are not limited to:

• Surgical removal of healthy tissue rather than the tissue affected by cancer;
• Errors in prescribing chemotherapy drugs;
• Wrongfully diagnosing a benign tumor as malignant and treating the benign tumor;
• Failing to inform a patient of the risks related to surgery, treatment or medication;
• Ordering high doses of chemotherapy, which could harm a patient’s vital organs.

All doctors, including oncologists, have an obligation to provide competent care. If you believe that your oncologist made an error or did something wrong, and that conduct led to your cancer being overlooked or made worse, you can recover compensation through a medical malpractice claim. In general, a medical malpractice claim allows patients to obtain compensation from the medical professionals who hurt them. Under Maryland law, an oncologist may be liable for medical malpractice if he or she failed to use the level of care that a reasonably prudent oncologist would have used in the same or a similar situation. In order to prove malpractice in Maryland, the plaintiff is required to establish the following by a preponderance of the evidence: i) the oncologist owed the patient a duty of care; ii) the oncologist breached the duty of care owed to the patient; and iii) the oncologist’s breach was a direct and proximate cause of the patient’s injury. A dedicated medical negligence lawyer can help you determine if the facts of your case may fulfill these elements.

While a missed diagnosis can be extremely detrimental to a patient, it is important to note that it can be equally harmful when a doctor misdiagnoses a false positive for cancer, and then subjects the patient to unnecessary and damaging treatments. Chemotherapy is an intense treatment and radiation, among other things, can lead to hair loss, fatigue and destruction of healthy cells. While these side effects can be worth it to send cancer into remission or to slow down the progress of tumors, these effects can also be devastating and can cause long-term harm to a person who does not actually have cancer.

Cancer patients who have been injured by medical errors made by negligent oncologists have rights. If you have a potential medical malpractice claim against an oncologist, our skilled Baltimore lawyers can help you pursue the damages you deserve. As you can probably imagine, establishing that an oncologist is liable for malpractice can be difficult, but with years of experience, we understand how to build a case. At Arfaa Law Group, we take great pride in representing victims of medical malpractice across Maryland. To schedule a free consultation regarding your case, call us today at 410-889-1850 or contact us online.