Cervical Cancer Misdiagnosis
Pittsburgh Lawyers Representing Victims Of Cervical Cancer Misdiagnosis
Cervical cancer is usually a slow-growing cancer, which gives doctors a window of opportunity to successfully treat it. Sadly, if the cancer is not detected at an early stage through regular pap screenings, treatment is less likely to be effective.
I’m attorney John Gismondi, founder of Gismondi & Associates. We are lawyers who represent families in Pittsburgh and throughout Pennsylvania who suffered losses because a doctor’s or lab’s failure to diagnose cervical cancer. A powerful lawsuit can provide full and complete compensation for you, and it can also send a strong message that will help to prevent some other person from being injured by a similar mistake or accident.
Diagnosis Of Cervical Cancer
Precancerous changes in the cervix can be identified through pap smear screenings in which your doctor brushes cells from your uterus and sends the sample to a lab for inspection under a microscope. If precancerous cells are discovered, early treatment can prevent those cells from developing into cancer. However, lab errors or failure to perform pap screenings can result in misdiagnosis of cervical cancer.
The American Cancer Society recommends that women should have an initial pap screening within three years of becoming sexually active — or no later than age 21. After the initial pap screening, subsequent screenings should be done every two years. Doctors can also order an HPV test to determine if you are infected with any of the types of HPV that may lead to cervical cancer. Very recently, a vaccine effective against common forms of the HPV has been developed and it is hoped that this will reduce the rate of cervical cancer in the coming years.
It is not enough that the pap smear be performed. It must also be interpreted properly when it is looked at under the microscope. Most pap smear specimen are usually reviewed by a technician known as a cytologist. If there is anything at all that is remotely suspicious on the sample, then the cytologist is to request that the specimen be looked at by a physician called a cytopathologist.
Treatment is most successful if the cancer is small and limited to the surface of the cervix. When the cancer grows and spreads to other parts of the body, it becomes very difficult to treat. Unfortunately, many of the women who die from cervical cancer did not receive regular pap screenings.
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A Lawsuit Provides Compensation … And More
We wish that we could turn back the hands of time and undo what has happened to you or your family. Unfortunately, no lawyer has that power. However, with a successful lawsuit we can reduce the burdens you face by obtaining full and complete compensation for everything that you have experienced as a result of your injury or the death of a family member … mounting medical bills, lost wages, physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, and perhaps most importantly, the loss of the relationship and companionship of a loved one.
We will also fight for compensation to cover everything that you may face in the future. Failure to diagnose cancer cases often involve long-term needs for things such as future surgeries, specialized equipment, personal attendant care and much more. Our goal is to provide full compensation for all of those needs so that you or your loved one can enjoy the very best quality of life possible and make the most of a difficult situation. After all, that is the least that you are entitled to.
Aside from providing you with full and complete compensation, a lawsuit can do one other very important thing: It can force changes to be made by the doctor or hospital that caused the injury to you or a loved one so that no other person or family has to go through what you have.
Our Experience With Cervical Cancer Cases
Over the years, the attorneys at Gismondi & Associates have handled different types of cervical cancer cases, including one involving the death of a young single mother whose pap smear test had not been correctly read. We obtained an award in excess of $1 million for this woman’s young child.
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If you or a loved one has been injured by cervical cancer misdiagnosis, call us now for a free consultation toll free at 1-888-529-1255. And remember, we always return phone calls. Our law office is in Pittsburgh and our attorneys handle personal injury cases throughout Pennsylvania.
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