Doctor misdiagnosed cancer as pneumonia, what can I do about it?

I think you are right. Forgot the time frame.

 

Roughly when it was footballish or basketballish size

 

I had a similar issue.

I had a stage 3 B Cell rich T Cell lymphoma.

I basically had a golf ball sized growth on my thigh and I asked my allergy doctor about it while I was getting my shots one day. He said it was just a fatty tumor and not to worry. A year and a half later I had surgery to get it removed and the biopsy showed it to be cancer.

Not alot you can do about I think.

 

How the hell does a doctor miss an engorged testicle? I didn't even know that was a possible symptom of pneumonia

 

Sorry.
But you're awfully testy for an incident that happened 10 years ago. If you cared that much why didn't you ask this when it happened and not give that guy a 10 year opportunity to malpractice?

 

Sorry to hear about your brother but what do you think? The Doc is out half-assing it just cause? He missed diagnosed your bro now you think the man shouldn't practice medicine anymore just because of that? Did your brother go in and point out his swollen testicles or did he go in for a cough, you need to provide a lot more info before trying to rally a lynch mob.

 

If you plan on filing a lawsuit, you are going to have to file it before 10 years elapsed from the date of the original examination or the second opinion.

A few of things concern me about this:

1) There is very little to no economic damages, where you had to expend a significant amount of money due to the false diagnosis.

2) If you are trying to get punitive damage from the doctor, Texas has a cap on how much you can recover. Also, you're basically going to have to prove that pretty much no other doctors could have given that false diagnosis. That's a very tough threshold.

3) Attorneys are very expensive.

In my opinion, the potential costs and rewards probably do not justify filing the lawsuit.

If you are really trying to prevent things like this from happening, perhaps it is better just to file a complaint about the doctor to the Texas Medical Board.

 

I could be wrong, but I believe in Texas you can only seek punitive damages in cases of fraud, malice, or gross negligence (as defined under Texas law.)

 

The Malpractice/Tort reform in this state is a *****ing joke.
Only people made money off it are the *****ing Insurance Companies

They still charging the Doctors and Arm and a Leg
inturn . .the Doctors charge us . . .

Insurance Companies get paid on both ends .

Rocket River

 

I think you're right about that actually. I could be wrong, but I think it can also be rewarded through statutes. I guess I don't know enough about medical malpractice to know how punitive damages are actually rewarded. Thanks for the correction.

 

If it is about justice, why have you (or others in your family) waited 10 years before trying to do anything about it? How do you know this doctor hasn't saved countless people's lives in the past 10 years?

Your brother apparently got a raw deal from that doctor and it is good that it was caught within a few days after the misdiagnosis, but the 10 year wait to do anything is a bit confusing.

 

He could've very well had pneumonia. But cancer isnt the main reason for Pneumonia. Its infection. And unless your brother didnt tell your family physician that he had a growth on his testes/ or if a yearly physical exam didnt make mention of it, then a doctor isnt going to further investigate something that often clears in healthy patients.

Other than posting a review online about a physician, if you consider going to the Texas Board to file a complaint. The physician that you filed the complaint against will ask about what. Those things are quite serious. So before you do anything, get advice from a lawyer.

 

Physicians arent god's. They are men trying to do God's work. And men are never perfect!

 

Dr. Nick strikes again.

 

Couldn't agree more, RR, but that's probably a topic best left to D&D.

 

I'm sorry, and I don't mean to offend, but if your brother is going to sue the doctor for negligence, he should also sue himself for the same.


Testicular is usually not a quickly metastasizing cancer. If his testicles had started getting that big, he should have been looking for answers long before it ever got to his lungs.

Of course, I don't think I understand the full story, based on the original post. I don't know a lot about medical litigation, but I'm sure there will be a lot to factor in to this supposed lawsuit. I have a feeling it'd be a hard one to win. If you truly aren't out for money, like you say you aren't (kind of hard to believe, to be honest), just report the case to the state medical board and be done with it. Save yourself the headache, keep it anonymous, and save any potential embarrassment for either party.

Great to hear he's better, though.