Medical Malpractice for incorrect diagnosis

caligirl76

Anyone have any experience with medical malpractice for an incorrect diagnosis? The pathologist incorrectly diagnosed my HER2 status and originally said I was negative and 2 months later we found out I was actually positive. Because of this I missed out on getting Perjeta which is only approved for pre-surgery and chemo was delayed by 2 1/2 months (I should've done chemo first and then surgery).

I think I have a strong case against the pathologist but not sure?

muska

I understand your frustration, however I am not sure you have enough for a medical malpractice case. One would need to prove that significant harm was done by incorrectly diagnosed HER2 status and resulting two month treatment delay.

I am sure somebody more experienced will add to this - I am not a lawyer.

sandilee

I would be really mad, as you are, caligirl. I do agree with muska that it's not likely that you have a case.

Because you have not had a serious negative outcome (become very ill, died, etc.), there isn't any proof that the mistake has caused you harm. It's potentially harmful, but that won't cut it with the law.

I hope that it turns out that this mistake causes you no harm at all and you live many years and never recur.

geewhiz

I am sorry you had to deal with this. I had a similar situation. My original pathology I was told showed me as er/pr negative. After about 6 months I was reading the pathology and noticed it said er/pr positive..so I went to my oncologist who turned red and said that sometimes tumors express different things on different parts. Then I went to the department head (major university NIH hospital) and showed him and he got really mad saying I was absolutely correct. They retested twice and got the same results so then they started tamoxifen. You definitely have to be your own advocate.

treelilac

My immediate thoughts are: can the pathologist argue that your Her2 is borderline positive? Can the MO, citing statistics, argue that the order of chemo and surgery does not affect outcome? But I don't know the details of your case.

I feel it's very energy taxing to deal with legal matters when you also need to focus on taking care of your health, even with the help of a lawyer

If you believe you have a strong case, maybe there are local pro bono advocacy groups that can take a look for you. Sometimes bigger organizations can be reached through calls.

Take care!

edwards750

I have had some experience in malpractice cases in that my brother and I tried to prove the hospital was negligent with my mother. A law firm agreed but in the end for other reasons decided not to take case. A friend and her DH also had a strong case but the attorney said they would have to put up front $ for them to take the case - like 60k! It's a long process typically and obviously very expensive. Doctors pretty much stick together too so they aren't that willing to testify against one another.

No question your doctor was wrong but unless it resulted in something serious my guess is they wouldn't take your case.

There was a lady on this forum who received the wrong DX and it eventually cost her life. The law firm she consulted said she was too old and they would be looking at quality of life at her age. She was 70 and suffered terribly.

Unfortunately doctors are not infallible and are generally given the benefit of the doubt. Right or wrong that's the world we live in.

Diane