Doctor Settles For $600,000 After Not Telling Patient Tests Suggested Possible Prostate Cancer

Men frequently have a bad awareness of prostate cancer

, their own chances for the cancer, and the methods available for detecting whether they have prostate cancer. Most male patients are not aware of what it means to screen for prostate cancer or that screening ought to be done prior to when they begin to show symptoms. Regrettably doctors on occasion do not screen male patients or do not order diagnostic testing after an abnormal result from a screening test.

There are several various circumstances that can result in a delayed diagnosis. This article will consider the following pattern: the physician (1) orders a PSA blood test, (2) notices abnormally elevated levels of PSA and yet (3) neither informs the patient of abnormal results (and what they signify) nor orders diagnostic tests, such as a biopsy, to rule out prostate cancer. The lawsuit below is an example of this problem.

In this reported case a male patient discovered he had prostate cancer after he followed up when informed by his internist that he most likely had cancer. The problem in this case was that the internist did not inform the patient that he might have cancer until the third year of raised PSA test results. The year before the patient's PSA level had increased to 13.6. Two years before that it had been at 8.0 Throughout these years the doctor did nothing to rule out prostate cancer as the source of these high readings and did not inform the patient. By the time he was diagnosed he had advanced prostate cancer and surgery was no longer among the treatment options. Instead the man underwent radiation therapy and hormone therapy in an attempt to delay the further progression of the cancer. The law firm that handled this matter reported that they took the claim to mediation where they were able to obtain a settlement of $600,000.

But doing nothing after noting abnormal test results results in a situation in which those patients who do actually have prostate cancer might not find out they have it until it has spread beyond the prostate, limiting the patient's options for treatment, and significantly reducing the possibility that the patient will be able to survive the cancer.

At a minimum they should advise the patient that the results of the screening tests are abnormal and refer the man to a urologist. In addition, the physician can propose diagnostic testing, such as a biopsy.

As the case reveals a doctor who makes this sort of mistake might be liable for medical malpractice.

Doctor Settles For $600,000 After Not Telling Patient Tests Suggested Possible Prostate Cancer

By: J. Hernandez

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