Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Georgia
wrong cancer diagnosis and wrong treatment
My husband has been under the care of an oncologist since his diagnosis of Low Grade Lymphoma stage I A, 2 1/2 years ago.He was treated with 22 treatments of radiation at the time of his diagnosis.He remained under this doctor's care, seeing him every three months until the end of July 2003 at which time we found his diagnosis had been ammended from Low grade lymphoma to Diffuse Large B cell High grade lymphoma.We were never told in the 2 1/2 years about the ''ammended'' report. We found out totally by accident.The treatment for the two lymphomas are completely different. High grade is an aggressive cancer which requires chemo immediately.My husband did not get chemo.In July 2003 a scan revealed his cancer has spread to his spleen, this doctor was still treating my husband for a low grade lymphoma ''watch and wait''. Still he has not mentioned HIGH grade or chemo treatment. Question...since my husband was still under this doctor's care until July 2003, has the time limit expired for suit against this doctor or malpractice? Wrong diagnosis and wrong treatment. I seeked the advice of two other oncologist,they both agreed my husband got the wrong treatment.
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: wrong cancer diagnosis and wrong treatment
We just answered a similar inquiry for cancer misdiagnosis. Your issue is very similar and a determination must be made by interfacing your case's medical records with the applicable law.
Prior email from this firm.
" The law in Georgia is fuzzy on when the statute begins to run. Some case have said
at the time of the misdiagnosis and others have allowed some deviation based on
the ongoing care and continued misdiagnosis.
To accurately answer your question you need to immediately confer with an attorney
to see if the limitations period vitiates any claim you wish to make. A brief perusal
of the case law shows that this issue has arisen frequently over the past 10-15
years and cases such as Ford v. Dove and Ezor v. Thompson have discussed this issue.
Please do not hesitate to get an informed opinion on this issue. If the statutory
period commenced over two years ago you might be in legal limbo.
If you wish to call me or email we would be glad to confer to see if you have a
viable case"
Re: wrong cancer diagnosis and wrong treatment
The statute of limitation is 2 years from the date of the negligence or injury, whichever occurs later. In your case the records would need to be examined to determine the exact date the negligent treatment and/or misdiagnosis occurred. If it is less than 2 years, you would still have time to bring your suit.
Re: wrong cancer diagnosis and wrong treatment
I would need to ask you further questions. If you would like to discuss this, please call my legal nursing consultant, Bonnie Deaton, at 912-232-2791.
Re: wrong cancer diagnosis and wrong treatment
I am very sorry to hear about your husband's diagnosis. Based upon your facts, your husband may still be able to bring a medical malpractice action. Generally, the statute of limitation on med mal is two years from the date of the negligent act or two years from the discovery of the negligent act. Thereforem since the misdiagnosis was only discovered this past summer, then the claim would not be barred.
What stage is the current high grade lymphoma?
We are handling a similar case in association with a law firm in Florida. I would be more than happy to discuss this matter with you further. Please call or email.
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