Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyer NYC

Did a NY Doctor Fail to Timely Diagnose Your Cancer?

The Medical Malpractice Attorneys at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershehorn, Steigman & Mackauf have carved out a reputation as some of the Top Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyers in New York. They have been instrumental in the enactment of "Lavern's Law" which mandates that the statute of limitations in cancer misdiagnosis cases begins to run when the patient discovers that they were the victim of medical malpractice.

What Are Some of the Most Common Types of Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawsuits?

Our attorneys have more than 100 years of experience representing plaintiffs who have been injured or have died as the result of medical malpractice involving failure to diagnose cancer, including cases involving:

• Breast cancer misdiagnosis
• Ovarian cancer misdiagnosis
• Colon cancer misdiagnosis
• Cervical cancer misdiagnosis
• Lung cancer misdiagnosis
• Skin cancer and melanoma misdiagnosis
  
• Prostate cancer misdiagnosis
• Thyroid cancer misdiagnosis
• Leukemia misdiagnosis
• Lymphoma misdiagnosis
• Uterine cancer misdiagnosis
• Testicular cancer misdiagnosis
• Stomach cancer misdiagnosis
• Rectal cancer misdiagnosis
• Bladder cancer misdiagnosis
• Kidney cancer misdiagnosis

What Is "Lavern's Law"?

On January 31, 2018, New York enacted “Lavern’s Law,” changing the way the statute of limitations is calculated for medical malpractice cases involving the failure to timely diagnose and treat cancer. For just this class of cases, the statute of limitations now begins to run upon reasonable discovery by plaintiff that he/she has been a victim of malpractice; the plaintiff has 2 ½ years from that point, or 2 ½ years from the last date of treatment where there is continuous treatment (whichever is longer) to bring the action, provided that the action is started within 7 years of the malpractice. For cases against municipalities, claimants now have 90 days from reasonable discovery to file a Notice of Claim (no motion for late notice would be necessary), but the 7 year outside limit still exists.

All of the above applies to acts of malpractice going forward or for acts of malpractice for which the statute had not had yet expired as of the effective date of the statute, January 31, 2018. If the statute first expired on March 31, 2017 or later, the cause of action is revived and must be brought by July 31, 2018. Where the statute expired prior to 3/31/17, the action remains time-barred.

Our partner, Jeffrey Bloom who serves as the Co-Chair of the Medical Malpractice Committee and LAWPAC of New York (The Trial Lawyers'political action Committee) for the New York State Trial Lawyers Association was a leading force behind the enactment of this law

How Can Cancer Be Misdiagnosed?

The key to successfully fighting cancer is early detection. Cancer symptoms can share the characteristics of other conditions, so proper testing by doctors is essential. Tests such as the PSA test, mammograms and biopsies are commonly used by the medical profession to detect cancer. Many times doctors fail to even order these crucial tests.

There are also situations where the proper tests are ordered, but the radiologist misreads the film or the pathologist misreads the slide, leading to a crucial delay in making the diagnosis. Delay in diagnosing cancer can worsen the treatment or prognosis or can even be fatal.

How Can a Lawyer Help If My Cancer Was Misdiagnosed?

Our team of attorneys includes 2 board-certified physicians who can assist in reviewing your case and help you to understand the full medical scope of your claim. Our firm conducts exhaustive investigations, and we retain the most qualified experts to bring a comprehensive level of expertise to surpass that on the other side. For example, when a doctor fails to diagnose breast cancer, we seek out and retain a practicing breast cancer specialist to determine the full circumstances of the misdiagnosis and in the event of a misread mammogram, we will find an expert radiologist to examine the films.

If necessary, we also retain expert accountants and financial analysts because many medical malpractice cases have their own set of associated losses including lost wages, the cost of care and many other monetary costs. In order to accurately assess what these costs will be for the remainder of a victim’s life, we use financial professionals to derive fair resolutions for injury victims.

Cases of Note

Our firm's medical malpractice attorneys have achieved verdicts and settlements that are among the largest in New York and New Jersey. Some of the more notable results include:

• $2,300,000 settlement in a medical malpractice case on behalf of a woman whose doctors failed to timely diagnose her breast cancer.
• $2,250,000 settlement in a medical malpractice case for failing to communicate the results of the plaintiff’s Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test, leading to a delayed cancer diagnosis and metastasis to the spine.
  
• $1,950,000 settlement for a man in a medical malpractice case stemming from the doctor's failure to diagnose bladder cancer.
• $1,900,000 settlement for a New York man in a medical malpractice case stemming from the doctor's failure to diagnose endometrial cancer.
• $1,575,000 verdict on behalf of a woman whose doctors failed to make a timely diagnosis of her breast cancer.
• $1,450,000 settlement in a Dutchess County medical malpractice case in which doctors failed to timely diagnose breast cancer.

Disclaimer: Please be advised that the results achieved in any given case depend upon the exact facts and circumstances of that case. Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf cannot guarantee a specific result in any legal matter. Any testimonial or case result listed on this site is based on an actual legal case and represents the results achieved in that particular case, and does not constitute a guarantee, warranty or prediction of the outcome of any other legal matter.