Delayed Diagnosis of Uterine Cancer

[DeAnn]

My question involves medical malpractice in the state of: Iowa
I am a 37 year old female.
My symptoms started in April of 2007. I went to my family doctor in May of 2007 to report that I was having unusual bleeding, abdominal bloating, unexplained weight gain, inability to eat much without getting sick, excessive fatigue and pain during intercourse.
My doctor ran a few tests and ended up telling me there was nothing wrong.
I continued to have the problems and continued to report them to her, knowing that something was just not right. She finally recommended I see an OB/GYN. I went to him and he told me I needed to lose weight and he was going to put me on an antidepressant to cope with my weight gain. I was not depressed, I knew my weight gain was because something was not right! In December of 2007, my family dr ordered an ultra sound and it came back that my uterine lining was very thick and there were masses inside my uterus.
I continued to have problems and my abdomen was getting so large, I looked like I was pregnant. Throughout my treatment with my former family doctor, I mentioned that I had searched the internet and found that my symptoms are similar to the ones for ovarian and uterine cancer. The doctor assured me this was not the case. ( this is documented in my medical records I obtained)
I finally found a new doctor in July of 2009 and she did another ultrasound and that day, scheduled me to have a hysterescopy to remove the masses in my uterus and to do a D&C. This was scheduled within a week. The doctor told me that this should help me in getting pregnant eventually.
The day after my surgery, I received the call that I had uterine cancer.
When I heard this, I knew I had it for the past two years because of the symptoms I continued to report. My question is, is it reasonable to think that I have a case for medical malpractice? If my doctor would have found this two years ago, I could have had time to harvest my eggs to have a surrogate mother.
I am grateful for my new doctors, but I am angry with my old doctor for discounting my concerns and making me feel like I was making stuff up and making excuses for my weight gain. I am not out to make a quick buck, but feel that her misdiagnosis could have turned out a lot worse if I had not sought out another doctor. I do not even have an idea of what the settlement would bring in this situation.
Thanks in advance for your help!

[LawResearcherMissy]

My question is, is it reasonable to think that I have a case for medical malpractice?

Were I in your position, I would take my entire medical file to a malpractice attorney for evaluation. It's not really something strangers on the internet can decide.

[Mr. Knowitall]

Another way to phrase that is that you've laid out a pretty good framework for a malpractice case, but we can't give you a definitive answer. If we say "yes", your lawyer may find on a full review of your records that there's not a strong case. If we say "no", you may not get the review you need to find out for sure and end up going uncompensated. So the best thing to do is to get your records reviewed by a malpractice lawyer in your state.

[KeyWestDan]

Yes, see a medical malpractice attorney. That is the only way you will know if it is malpractice and what your options are.

Most states have passed various forms of tort reform and generally the attorney has medical experts to speak with to determine if there actually is a case of malpractice. He will also contact the doctor(s) involved in your case.

Sometimes the doctor will offer a settlement amount directly, or if not, his insurer will offer to settle. This assumes there is malpractice. A large percentage of these cases are settled before a civil action is even filed.

A medical malpractice civil action is a very expensive case for both sides. To go to trial your attorney has to be confident there is going to be a big payoff and the other side has to be confident they can defeat your claim. Thus, most of these cases are settled without a trial. Cases that go to trial are usually asking for many hundreds of thousands or millions. Your case would not fall into that range.

From your description of symptoms I would have thought you were pregnant. But a decent doctor would then look to see what diseases can mimick the symptoms of pregnancy, like cancer in the reproductive system, and test for those. Personally I think you have a malpractice case, but the damages will be debatable. However, the attorneys and insurance companies already know what this is worth.