Connecticut Leukemia Misdiagnosis Lawyer

Our skilled Connecticut Leukemia misdiagnosis lawyers are available to review potential lawsuits on behalf of patients who are diagnosed and treated for the wrong type of leukemia. A misdiagnosis of the disease can be fatal. To learn more, contact our experienced misdiagnosis attorneys.

Despite all the tools available to doctors, studies show that life-threatening illnesses are misdiagnosed about 20 percent of the time. When a person is given the wrong diagnosis and treated incorrectly, it can cost his or her life. An example of this is a 4-year-old boy that was diagnosed with leukemia and treated with a strong course of chemotherapy. What the doctors failed to recognize, however, is that he had a rare form of the disease which could not be cured with chemotherapy.

The chemotherapy he was given masked his symptoms for about a month but then returned. And, because he was so weak, each course of chemotherapy put him at risk of death. According to an article published by The New York Times, the doctors who diagnosed him were concerned about dark spots on the boy’s skin (which are not typical of leukemia) but decided to move forward with chemotherapy anyway.

Who is Liable for Misdiagnosis?

In order for a leukemia treatment to be successful, it must start with an accurate diagnosis. Unfortunately, doctors and other healthcare providers are paid to perform tests and prescribe treatments. They are often overworked or in a hurry and details such as the young boy’s skin spots may be overlooked. When someone is diagnosed with the wrong type of illness such as the wrong type of leukemia, he or she loses valuable treatment time.

Misdiagnosis should not go overlooked. If someone in your family died as a result of being treated for the wrong type of leukemia, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit against the health care providers involved as well as the hospital in which the diagnosis was made. If negligence is found, you can recover compensation for your loss. While monetary compensation cannot reverse the damage that has been done, it can pay for the medical bills as well as other damages including physical and emotional suffering.

Symptoms of leukemia often resemble those of other conditions such as infection or the flu, so some patients are treated for another condition altogether. If this has happened to you or your loved one, contact our malpractice attorneys today and let us help you get the compensation you deserve while you are focusing on your treatment and recovery.

Types of Leukemia

Leukemia is either acute or chronic and is categorized by the type of cells affected and the rate of cell growth. Acute leukemia is characterized by an abundance of immature blood cells. It can be fatal due to the lack of mature blood cells that prevent anemia, infection, and bleeding.

Myelodysplastic Syndrome is a condition in which the bone marrow fails to produce the right amount of normal blood cells; this can lead to acute myeloid leukemia. Myeloproliferative Disease (MPD) occurs when there are too many blood cells; this can develop into acute myeloid leukemia.

Chronic leukemia is characterized by too many mature blood cells. This type of leukemia is usually found in people between the ages of 40 and 70.

Talk to a Connecticut Leukemia Misdiagnosis Attorney

If you or a loved one doesn’t receive the right treatment due to a misdiagnosis, you should talk to a Connecticut Leukemia misdiagnosis lawyer about your right to file a lawsuit for your damages. It is best that you act quickly, not only because Connecticut imposes a strict statute of limitations deadlines on your ability to file a leukemia misdiagnosis lawsuit, but also because certain procedural hurdles must be surmounted before a trial can take place.

To be more specific, Section 52-190a of the Connecticut General Statutes states that in order to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, the injured patient (or the patient’s lawyer) must file a certificate with the court asserting:

  • that the patient or his lawyer has conducted a “reasonable inquiry” to determine if good faith grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit against each defendant exists, and
  • that this “reasonable inquiry” led to a good faith conclusion that sufficient grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit against each defendant is justified by the evidence.

In addition to the foregoing declaration, the injured patient must also file a written and signed opinion from a medical expert in which the expert:

  • agrees that the patient was injured by medical negligence, and
  • includes relevant details for the grounds of the expert’s opinion

The fact that obtaining a professional opinion from a medical expert can take time is all the more reason to start preparing your medical malpractice claim as soon as possible. To speak with our Connecticut Leukemia misdiagnosis attorneys about a leukemia misdiagnosis, contact us today.