Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer FAQs

A delayed breast cancer diagnosis may result from errors at several stages of a patient’s care. A healthcare provider may fail to investigate a newly discovered lump, skin change, nipple discharge, persistent pain, or another concerning symptom. A physician may also overlook a patient’s personal or family history, fail to recommend appropriate screening, neglect to order further testing after an abnormal clinical examination, or fail to refer the patient to a qualified specialist. In other cases, a radiologist may misinterpret a mammogram, ultrasound, MRI, or other imaging study. Problems can also arise when a provider fails to communicate an abnormal result, does not arrange timely follow-up testing, or incorrectly interprets tissue obtained during a biopsy. Whether any particular mistake constitutes malpractice depends on the circumstances, including the information available to the provider and the accepted standard of care at the relevant time.

Under New York law, a patient generally must establish that a healthcare provider departed from accepted medical practice and that the departure was a proximate cause of an injury. It is not enough to show only that breast cancer was diagnosed after an earlier appointment or test. The evidence must support a finding that a reasonably competent provider should have acted differently and that appropriate care would probably have led to an earlier diagnosis or a better outcome. Evaluating those questions usually requires a detailed review of medical records and opinions from qualified medical experts. Attorneys investigating a possible claim may examine office notes, screening histories, imaging studies, radiology reports, pathology materials, patient communications, and treatment plans. They may also compare the cancer’s condition when it was diagnosed with the likely stage, treatment, and prognosis at the time it reasonably should have been detected.

Responsibility for a delayed diagnosis is not necessarily limited to the patient’s primary physician. Depending on what occurred, a claim may involve an obstetrician and gynecologist, internist, family practitioner, radiologist, surgeon, pathologist, oncologist, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, hospital, imaging center, laboratory, or medical practice. More than one provider may bear responsibility when separate mistakes contributed to the delay. For example, one provider may fail to order diagnostic imaging after a concerning examination, while another may later misread the resulting study or fail to communicate an abnormal finding. Identifying the potentially responsible parties requires reconstructing the entire course of care rather than focusing only on the provider who ultimately disclosed the diagnosis. This is one reason patients should preserve appointment information, electronic messages, test results, and other records and consult an attorney promptly.

The damages available in a New York medical malpractice case depend on the additional harm caused by the delay. A patient may seek compensation for medical expenses associated with treatment that would not otherwise have been necessary, including surgeries, hospitalization, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, medication, rehabilitation, counseling, and future care. Recoverable economic losses may also include lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and the cost of necessary assistance. Noneconomic damages may address physical pain, emotional suffering, scarring, loss of enjoyment of life, and other personal consequences of more advanced disease or more aggressive treatment. When a delayed diagnosis leads to death, the patient’s estate and qualifying family members may have claims under New York’s survival and wrongful death laws. An attorney must carefully separate the harm caused by the negligent delay from the effects the underlying cancer would have produced even with timely care.