Could Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Save Women’s Lives?
Breast cancer affects one in every eight women in the United States. About 250,000 women are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer every year. This represents about 12 percent of the population. As the breast cancer epidemic continues, the screening and diagnostic process scrambles to keep up with the demand, and the complex nature of the disease.
As recommended by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists, many women undergo screening procedures — such as mammography — for the early detection of breast cancer. ACOG guidelines suggest women over the age of 40 have a mammogram every one to two years.
Despite the number of mammograms performed and interpreted daily throughout the United States, there are many cases of misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis as a result of improperly interpreted mammograms. Radiologists interpreting mammograms now represent the largest single group of physicians involved in medical malpractice lawsuits.
A 2001 study of breast cancer screening effectiveness, Mammography and Beyond, by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council led to a body of work in which academics, physicians and public health servants struggled to increase the effectiveness of early breast cancer screening and stem the tide of litigation.
Whether attributable to the onslaught of medical malpractice lawsuits or the resulting improvements in screening procedures, the pressure to strengthen early detection has worked to some extent. According to a comprehensive European study, breast cancer survival has improved due to both improvements in early detection improvements and treatment. One determining factor in post-cancer survivors is the involvement of lymph nodes at the time of diagnosis. This indicates that early detection that triggers intervention before lymph node involvement saves lives.
When early screening fails, and a cancer goes undetected due to a misread or misinterpreted screening test, the life of a woman can be endangered. A woman who suffers illness as the result of the negligence of a medical professional has the right to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.
If you have been harmed by the negligence of another, you might be eligible to collect monetary compensation for your injuries. Call the Colorado medical malpractice lawyers at the law firm of Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh and Jardine, P. C. Call 303-792-5595 or contact us online today for a Free Consultation. We care about your case.
