Few things will change your life as profoundly as the words, “you have cancer.” Immediately, you must face your own mortality and make important decisions about potential treatments that could extend your life. Worse, you are likely facing your cancer diagnosis and treatment options without a medical education. You likely trust the doctor who diagnosed you.

However, even if you trust your doctor implicitly, should you still seek a second opinion? Statistics and experienced Atlanta med mal attorneys may lead you to answer that question with a resounding, “Yes, I will seek a second opinion.”

Diagnostic Errors May Be Common
 
A new report from QuantiaMD that surveyed 6,400 physicians found that almost half of the doctors surveyed reported seeing missed, late or missed diagnoses at least monthly. Two-thirds of those doctors report that up to 10% of the diagnostic errors they see result in patient harm.

Second opinions may help catch failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis medical errors early and result in less harm to a patient.
 
Second Opinions May Lead to Better Treatment

It may also be worthwhile to seek a second (or third) opinion about treatment options. This may be particularly important when a surgeon and oncologist disagree about the way to treat your condition.
 
Contact Atlanta Med Mal Attorneys if You’ve Been Hurt by a Cancer Misdiagnosis or Treatment Error
 
Second opinions may help prevent physical harm from misdiagnoses or treatment errors, but they do not take away the risk. Sometimes the second opinion comes too late after the delayed diagnosis has already caused the patient harm. Other times a second opinion is not sought, which does not relieve the first doctor of liability for a medical mistake.

If you have been hurt by a cancer misdiagnosis or treatment error, or if you have lost a loved one because of a medical mistake, we encourage you to contact the experienced Atlanta medical malpractice lawyers at The Dover Law Firm by calling 1.770.518.1133 or filling out our online contact form.

To learn more about what happened to you, our Atlanta cancer misdiagnosis lawyers also encourage you to read our FREE book: Cancer: Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment Errors.