Personal Injury Law

Woman?s Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Claims Doctor Failed to Diagnose Her Renal Cancer

Linda K. Cordes is accusing Dr. R. Brad Ringhofer of Illinois medical malpractice. Ringhofer was her primary care physician from June 9, 2006 through August 31, 2009.

According to her Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit, Ringhofer failed to inform her that a CT scan she underwent revealed a right renal cystic lesion. Cordes contends that although the doctor should have conducted an ultrasound on her to better determine what the lesion was, no such test was performed.

More than a year later, on June 13, 2007, Cordes had another CT scan done on her pelvis and abdomen. Even though the scan advised that further testing be conducted, Ringhofer again allegedly failed to perform more tests. It wasn?t until Cordes changed doctors that a follow-up exam was conducted and her new physician diagnosed her with renal cancer, which is a type of kidney cancer. Cordes?s right kidney was then removed during a laparoscopic right radical nephrectomy.

Cordes claims that because Ringhofer failed to diagnose her cancer early enough, did not conduct the appropriate tests, and neglected to properly monitor the progression of her renal mass, she has experienced pain and suffering and mental anguish, while incurring medical expenses. She is seeking a judgment of over $75,000.

Failure to Diagnose Cancer
Delayed cancer diagnosis can prove deadly. If the patient is lucky enough to survive a delayed or wrong cancer diagnosis, he or she may still have had to undergo invasive surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, and other painful procedures that could have been avoided if the cancer had been diagnosed earlier. Failure to diagnose cancer can be grounds for Chicago medical malpractice.

Swansea doctor sued by woman claiming kidney cancer, The Record, June 17, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Kidney Cancer, National Cancer Institute

Kidney Cancer, Mayo Clinic

Full post as published by Chicago Injury Attorney Blog on June 24, 2010 (boomark / email).