You have probably seen many advertisements for multiple myeloma cases on television here in Mississippi. Massive class action cases are providing compensation for many people who were exposed to asbestos and other materials that caused multiple myeloma, often through their service in the United States military. But what if you had multiple myeloma and your physician or physicians failed to diagnosis it. A failure to diagnosis this particularly aggressive cancer can mean a much shorter life span and a decreased quality of the end of life. If your multiple myeloma was misdiagnosed or was not diagnosed as early as possible, you might have also had a viable claim against the physicians and medical center that delayed or missed your diagnosis.
If a loved one died as a result of a multiple myeloma misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, you will need to have experienced counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation for their death. Barrett Law has the experience to help you—contact us now at (601) 790-1505.
Multiple Myeloma and Medical Malpractice
In this blog post, I am not discussing the various causes of multiple myeloma, a particularly deadly cancer that attacks the plasma in the body’s blood cells. Once multiple myeloma begins to attack the cells’ plasma in earnest, the patient usually dies within three years. Because multiple myeloma is so deadly and fast, early detection and treatment is vital to extending the patient’s life and increasing the quality of the remainder of life. Usually, the cancer is determined through a well-established blood test, x-rays, and a bone marrow biopsy. It does not manifest in a detectable tumor or lump like other cancers.
Many people contract multiple myeloma, and it is caught as soon as possible, and they still die. So simply dying from this horrible cancer is not a sufficient basis for a malpractice claim. Negligence must be proven to prevail in a malpractice claim. Negligence can be established when the medical center or physician failed to act reasonably to meet a duty of care towards a patient. Specifically, if a reasonable medical center or physician would have performed a multiple myeloma test and your loved one’s medical team did not, then they may have acted negligently.
Similarly, if sufficient testing was performed, but the results were unreasonably misunderstood or missed altogether, then the medical team may have been negligent. Basically, while a patient cannot necessarily expect the medical professionals to stop an aggressive cancer, he or she should be able to expect them to take reasonable steps to discover and treat the cancer as early as possible. If you believe your loved one’s multiple myeloma treatment was botched, the best course of action is to contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney immediately.
What Should You Do If You or a Loved One Has Been Injured?
If a loved one died as a result of a multiple myeloma misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, you should contact an experienced personal injury attorney to determine whether you may attain compensation from a medical malpractice claim. Compensation can include the costs of additional medical treatment, payment for diminution in your loved one’s quality of life, missed work, and pain and suffering. I am highly experienced in the work required by these types of claims, including preserving medical records, attaining expert opinions, reviewing evidence, and dealing with the hospital’s attorneys. These are essential tasks that only a personal injury attorney can handle for you.
Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered a serious injury. Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.