Over $200,000 Medical Malpractice Settlement for Failure to Diagnose Lung Cancer
Settlement for a Missed Lung Cancer Diagnosis
Failure-to-diagnose medical malpractice cases may involve doctors, hospitals, radiologists, or other healthcare providers who fail to recognize warning signs of a serious illness. In this case, doctors failed to recognize symptoms that should have alerted them to the possible presence of lung cancer.
A lawsuit was filed on behalf of our client. After negotiations with the attorneys and insurance providers for the medical facilities and doctors involved, Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC reached a settlement in excess of $200,000.
Failure to Diagnose Lung Cancer
Lung cancer symptoms can sometimes resemble symptoms of less serious conditions, such as bronchitis, pneumonia, or other respiratory problems. That overlap does not mean a doctor should guess, ignore warning signs, or fail to order reasonable follow-up when the patient’s symptoms, history, imaging, or test results suggest a more serious condition.
In a serious failure to diagnose case, the legal issue is whether the provider failed to act as a reasonably careful medical professional would have acted under similar circumstances. If an earlier diagnosis would likely have changed the patient’s treatment, prognosis, or outcome, the case may support a medical malpractice claim.
Symptoms That May Be Associated with Lung Cancer
The American Cancer Society explains that lung cancer may not cause symptoms until it has spread, but some people with early lung cancer do have symptoms. Warning signs may include:
- A cough that does not go away or gets worse
- Coughing up blood or rust-colored sputum
- Chest pain that may worsen with deep breathing, coughing, or laughing
- Hoarseness or other voice changes
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling tired or weak
- Loss of appetite or unexplained weight loss
- Infections such as bronchitis or pneumonia that do not go away or keep returning
- New wheezing or noisy breathing
If lung cancer spreads to other parts of the body, symptoms may appear outside the chest. Depending on where the cancer has spread, a person may experience bone pain, headaches, neurological symptoms, swelling, blood clots, weakness, unexplained fractures, or other serious changes.
Types of Lung Cancer
There are two main types of lung cancer: non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, non-small cell lung cancer accounts for about 80% to 85% of lung cancers, while small cell lung cancer accounts for about 10% to 15%.
Non-small cell lung cancer includes several subtypes, such as adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma. Small cell lung cancer tends to grow and spread faster than non-small cell lung cancer. Because the type and stage of lung cancer may affect treatment options, diagnostic accuracy and timely follow-up can be extremely important.
Causes and Risk Factors for Lung Cancer
Lung cancer can have many risk factors. The CDC identifies cigarette smoking as the number one risk factor for lung cancer and also identifies radon as another important cause in the United States. Other possible risk factors may include secondhand smoke, asbestos exposure, certain workplace exposures, family history, air pollution, and prior radiation exposure.
The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be about 229,410 new lung cancer cases and about 124,990 lung cancer deaths in the United States in 2026. It also describes lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, accounting for about one in five cancer deaths.
Legal Help After a Missed Lung Cancer Diagnosis
Failure-to-diagnose cancer cases often require careful review of medical records, diagnostic imaging, pathology, test results, specialist referrals, and the timeline of symptoms and follow-up. These cases can be complex because the question is not only whether cancer was eventually discovered, but whether the delay caused avoidable harm.
Since 1990, Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC has represented patients and families in serious medical malpractice cases in Chicago and throughout Illinois. If you believe that a doctor failed to diagnose lung cancer in your family, call 312-243-9922 or contact us for a free, confidential case evaluation.
