Misdiagnosis of cancer

Let me start by telling you the story. My mother which was age 52 non smoker,non drinker,and no drug use what so ever. My mother became sick severally about Septemper 2003 through the day she passed away. She shought consistant medical attention from her primary physican and was also hospitalzed for gal bladder surgery. He stated sinustis etc also gave her pills to make her throw up when she ate fatty foods,(b/c she was overweight) I can tell you that when my mother finally passed away and we cleaned all her medicine up we had a complete grocery bag full from MULTIPLE antibotics to nerve pills you name it . I had a lawyer look at my mothers medical records he had 5 other doctors look at them and all 5 doctors stated that she recieved below substandard medical care but also said that the type of cancer that she had even if they would have caught it that she would have only had a 20% chance of living which the type she had was acute myelogenous leukemia. My question is that what are the statues of limitations on a medical malpractice lawsuit since in hance clearly I have had 5 DOCTORS tell me what he did was wrong also does anyone think I have a case or am I just wasting my time your help and opinions are appreciated.

In what state?

North Carolina

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Quoting John Paul

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North Carolina

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If it is 3 years, you have passed statute of limitations.

http://www.expertlaw.com/library/lim..._Carolina.html

But you may write the Medical Board of your state and provide what you understand was communicated to your by your atty regarding physicians whom he consulted.

Depending on the full facts it may still be possible under the state's discovery rule, and also if state law provides an additional window following death for the estate to determine if it has any legal claims which it could bring on behalf of the deceased, but you should consult a lawyer ASAP.

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Quoting Mr. Knowitall

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Depending on the full facts it may still be possible under the state's discovery rule, and also if state law provides an additional window following death for the estate to determine if it has any legal claims which it could bring on behalf of the deceased, but you should consult a lawyer ASAP.

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If the lawyer had 5 doctors review the records and state a malpractice case for misdiagnosis is confusing. I agree full facts are needed.

I assumed that following the death was when the lawyer consulted 5 other physicians, and therefore discovery regarding the misdiagnosis of GB disease vs AML started 9/2003.

I am curious about circumstances that might change the discovery rule?

The lawyer is the lawyer that handled her estate case. He went to a medical malpractice lawyer the best in North Carolina, they had 5 other MD's look at her medical files and they stated that she recieved substandard care from her primary physican. They said the reason they would not take the case is b/c the type of cancer she had she would only have a 20% chance of living. What I do not understand is that they stated yes the doctor failed to diagnose the cancer but since she would not have lived anyway they dont want to take the case. My point is she didnt even get that 20% chance to fight because of the doctors error. She had galbladder surgery a month before she died and had a CBC done which they state was normal,she also had two done at her doctors office which they said where normal, how could this be if she had a blood cancer to begin with. How can I not have a case or at least a statement that the medical board wants to hear I know that it takes extensive amounts of paperwork and time for a malpractice lawsuit. She was never diagnosed with the cancer until we had an autopsy done. A good example of how much she was going to the doctor we had almost 4000 dollars in doctor bills etc to pay on for her estate.

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Quoting John Paul

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The lawyer is the lawyer that handled her estate case. He went to a medical malpractice lawyer the best in North Carolina, they had 5 other MD's look at her medical files and they stated that she recieved substandard care from her primary physican. They said the reason they would not take the case is b/c the type of cancer she had she would only have a 20% chance of living. What I do not understand is that they stated yes the doctor failed to diagnose the cancer but since she would not have lived anyway they dont want to take the case. My point is she didnt even get that 20% chance to fight because of the doctors error. She had galbladder surgery a month before she died and had a CBC done which they state was normal,she also had two done at her doctors office which they said where normal, how could this be if she had a blood cancer to begin with. How can I not have a case or at least a statement that the medical board wants to hear I know that it takes extensive amounts of paperwork and time for a malpractice lawsuit. She was never diagnosed with the cancer until we had an autopsy done. A good example of how much she was going to the doctor we had almost 4000 dollars in doctor bills etc to pay on for her estate.

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I tried to locate information about the discovery rule. I wish I could encourage you to take legal action. You need to speak to an malpractice attorney about this. Get all of her records from the hospital through her estate attorney and take them to at least a couple opinions on this situation.

It sounds like negligent practice but someone needs to "see" the records and reports.

First, she was 52 years old and died one month after surgery to remove her gallbladder.

Second, she had a family practice doctor or primary care doc. They don't do surgery. So she had a surgeon and preop testing at a hospital before they did the surgery.

A grocery bag of medicines doesn't mean much unless someone goes through them and list each med, date described and prescribing md. Then the consultants can better understand what was really being treated.

So, third when you say they said she received substandard care I don't have a clue if that means all the meds she was taking or the fact that she was not treated for leukemia.

It has been several years since this occurred. Is it possible that she knew she had the blood disorder and chose not to undergo treatment?

I don't mean to discourage you or encourage you to deal with litigation. You have to decide how much you want to take on.

No I know she did not know she had cancer or blood disorder. I went to the doctor after I got the autopsy report and he knew nothing of it noone did untill she died. What I meant about grocery bags full of meds is just to let you know how many different types of drugs she had been prescribed,to try to get BETTER not just to be taking them ( that type of behavior does not indicate to me someone that just doesnt want to resolve the probelm). The arguementive that I am trying to get to is how could 5 doctors say yes the doctor did do a poor job but her cancer was such a bad type of cancer that we dont think that you are intitled to our representation because she would have died anyway. Does noone think that going through the surgery,hospital and going to all the doctor visit's that they should have caught it ? I wish I could explain all of it to you all but alot of it is personal but I know this man broke my mothers spirit a week before she died I asked her to go get another opinion from a second doctor and she stated " what good would it do"

Damages are an element of malpractice. If you cannot prove that you suffered harm as a result of the doctor's error, no matter how egregious, you cannot prevail in court. It would appear that the lawyers are concerned that they would not be able to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that your aunt was damaged, due to her low chance of survival even with a proper diagnosis and treatment.

"She would have died anyway" sounds like a heartless defense, but that's a common defense raised in malpractice wrongful death cases.