Phoenix Skin Cancer Attorney

Skin cancers are common; they are the most frequently occurring of all types of cancer—one third of the total cases of cancer in the U.S. Fortunately, when found early, skin cancer is very treatable. Skin cancers include basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and malignant melanoma, the least common but deadliest type. While all skin cancers can be disfiguring, an untreated melanoma that is allowed to metastasize to other sites in the body is difficult to cure and has a low survival rate. If you or a loved one has suffered from a misdiagnosis, a Phoenix skin cancer attorney at the Knapp & Roberts Medical Malpractice Law Firm can help you hold the doctor accountable. Early detection is absolutely essential, and a doctor who fails to diagnose a visible melanoma may be held liable for your damages through a medical malpractice legal action.

If you have consulted a doctor in Arizona about an unusual mole on your body, or if you scheduled a skin cancer screening with a dermatologist, and a mole was overlooked that turned out to be a serious skin cancer or a precancerous condition, and you now are suffering from an advanced stage melanoma, you may have a case of medical malpractice. Any suspicious looking mole should be biopsied to determine if it is cancerous and removed before it spreads to other sites in your body. Failing to order a biopsy or to properly interpret the results of one may well indicate that the doctor was negligent, and that you did not receive the appropriate standard of care. If the laboratory performing the biopsy failed to report the existence of cancerous or precancerous cells to your doctor, they might also be found negligent.

Why Your Doctor May Have Incorrectly Diagnosed or Missed a Skin Cancer

These medical errors might have led to a skin cancer being overlooked or misdiagnosed:

• The doctor only considered your family history and risk factors
• The doctor failed to refer you for further testing, based on visible symptoms
• The examination missed some areas of your body and the cancer was overlooked
• A laboratory error occurred and you were not informed of the cancer

While melanoma is the most likely skin cancer to threaten your life, a doctor’s failure to diagnose a basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma could also lead to your having to endure surgeries and disfiguration, which open up the possibility of surgical complications and other detrimental consequences. These scenarios would not even considered if the cancer had been diagnosed at an earlier stage. Additionally,

Get Experienced Legal Counsel

If your doctor has ignored symptoms of skin cancer and the disease has advanced to the stage where you need aggressive treatment and your life has been endangered, or if you have required chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, or other aggressive or invasive treatments, or if someone close to you has died wrongfully as a result of a missed melanoma diagnosis, you should consult with a medical malpractice attorney in Phoenix to learn if the doctor or laboratory appears to have been negligent, and you have a case to recover money for your damages. Developing a strong medical malpractice cases is demanding and requires an attorney with significant resources, including access to medical experts to support your case, and specific experience in pursuing recoveries for medical malpractice.

Top Phoenix Malpractice Attorneys Pursue Compensation for Failure to Diagnose

If you live in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Prescott, or the surrounding area and feel that you have suffered from a medical error on the part of your doctor, the team of Phoenix personal injury attorneys at Knapp & Robert want to talk to you. We have a powerful history of winning significant damage awards in complex and challenging medical malpractice cases. We have a team of seasoned medical experts on call to help pinpoint the error, establish causation, and testify as to the standard of practice that is required of any reasonably competent Arizona physician or healthcare provider. We often settle medical malpractice cases out of court, but whenever it is necessary to go to trial to get you the recovery you deserve, we are ready and willing to do so. We are always thoroughly prepared for trial and know how to present a compelling case to a jury.

As a client of Knapp & Roberts, you can expect caring and personalized service, prompt return of your emails and phone calls, and regular updates on the progress of your case.

Time to file a medical malpractice action is limited by Arizona law, so to protect your right to recover money for your damages, call us today for a free consultation.