Most parents here in Illinois and elsewhere want their children to live long, happy lives well beyond their own. Sadly, some parents’ children suffer either illnesses or injuries that ultimately take their lives. When a parent believes that death occurred due to a failure to diagnose by medical personnel, litigation could follow as a way to seek closure and justice for the loss of a child.
One such mother recently filed a lawsuit against medical personnel she believes failed to diagnose her son’s cancer, which led to his death. Documents filed in the lawsuit indicate that her HIV-positive son sought medical attention for rectal bleeding on July 21, 2014 from doctors at a facility claiming to understand the care needed for such patients. Doctors diagnosed her son as having a bleeding rectal ulcer and sent him home with a prescription.
However, the bleeding and pain persisted through numerous examinations and rounds of medication. Finally, a malignant anal tumor was discovered through a biopsy. Sadly, by the time that diagnosis came, he was in stage 3B/4 cancer, which metastasized. He died March 7. His mother contends that the delay in diagnosing his condition caused his death.
Unfortunately, this Missouri woman’s plight may not be as unique as many Illinois parents may hope. The failure to diagnose cancer in a timely manner leads to numerous deaths here and across the country far more often than it should. When it can be shown through the applicable evidence that the medical personnel who should have made the diagnosis failed to do so, a court may award damages to help with the monetary losses — and perhaps, to help with the grieving process.
Source: stlrecord.com, “Mother accuses St. Louis doctor, medical facility of failing to properly diagnose son’s cancer“, Noddy A. Fernandez, July 21, 2017