A woman whose cancer went undetected for five years was awarded $10 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor that failed to correctly diagnose the cancer. Her new doctors say that the woman, a 43 year old mother of three children, will likely only live another five years.

Correct diagnosis could have saved her life

According to a report from WBBH in Fort Myers Florida, Joni Hallatt lived with the symptoms of rectal cancer for five years before being correctly diagnosed. If caught sooner, she may have been able to treat the cancer. However, in the five years that her cancer went untreated, it spread to other parts of her body and her diagnosis today is grim – she only has five more years to live.

Once she was correctly diagnosed, she sued her former doctor for medical malpractice and was awarded $10 million – something she would likely return if she could be given more time with her children. Hallatt was quoted as saying, “I won't see my youngest child graduate, probably won't see my daughter get married and have kids, I won't be there for her that day, but I want it more than anything.”

Staggering medical malpractice claims

While undiagnosed cases do occur, misdiagnosed cases are quite common – a bit too common. According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, nearly 10-15 percent of medical diagnoses are not correct. That’s a staggering number and should prompt patients to get second opinions and contact an attorney if their diagnosis was incorrect or their doctors’ diagnosis doesn’t seem right.

According to a CNN report, there are five warning signs that patients should consider when being diagnosed with a serious illness – 1) You don’t get better with treatment, 2) Your symptoms don’t match your diagnosis, 3) Your diagnosis is based purely on a lab test., 4) Your doctor attributes common complaints to an uncommon ailment and 5) Your diagnosis usually involves a test you never received.

If you’ve been misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all, contact an attorney whose practice focuses in the area of medical malpractice to discuss your situation. Consultations are free, without obligation and strictly confidential. To contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney, please click here. We may be able to help.