Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Explains Complaints Based on Uterine Cancer Treatment Negligence

Licensure actions often come hand-in-hand with a claim of negligence against a physician. My physician clients often ask me to provide an overview of trends that I am seeing here in Missouri and Kansas or nationally. Once such trend is negligence claims based on a physician’s failure to diagnose uterine cancer. Specifically, the issue is that recent research indicates that physicians are frequently under-diagnosing this serious, terminal disease, which often exacerbates its spread throughout the patient’s body, often resulting in death. This research is particularly relevant for gynecologists, who may soon see a change in the standard of care associated with performing hysterectomies and the tests associated with that procedure.

If you are a licensed physician in Kansas or Missouri facing an investigation for an issue related to gynecology or any other medical field, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Attorney Sanger is well versed in the types of negligence cases that lead to licensure issues and can likely quickly tell you whether your career is at risk.

Negligence and Ever-Changing Standard of Care

In the medical context, negligence is defined as failing to meet the standard of care that a reasonable physician would have met under the same circumstance. For example, a battlefield doctor performing an appendectomy with only a few surgical tools as bullets whiz by is going to have a different standard of care than a physician performing the same procedure in a fully staffed university teaching hospital. Similarly, the standard of care ratchets up as research occurs indicating best practices in a specific specialty. As the standard increases, physicians are expected to increase their skills and knowledge with it.  Accordingly, negligence is a subjective standard that changes as the standard of care evolves.

Uterine Cancer Research Results in Intriguing Conclusions

I have linked to an article describing an interesting study below from Yale’s Obstetrics & Gynecology medical journal. This is an excellent example of a standard of care increasing as a result of research.  The study concludes that doctors frequently underestimate how frequently a woman has uterine cancer.  This is troubling, as a failure to diagnose uterine cancer can lead to its spread and, ultimately, the patient’s death. The Yale study found that one in 20 women over 55 who were treated for seemingly benign symptoms had malignant cancers in their uterus.  One in 10 women over 55 that underwent hysterectomies had undiscovered malignant tumors. Overall, one in 50 to one in 70 women had undetected cancer discovered after a hysterectomy.  That is a very high number for such a dangerous condition.

The Yale study may result in a shift in the standard of care for gynecologists. While gynecologists may have been excused for missing uterine cancer in the past, given this new information, that same error is likely to be construed as a negligent failure to meet the standard of care for their profession.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

Any Kansas or Missouri physician in the midst of a medical malpractice or negligence case should also contact experienced licensing counsel immediately. Your license to practice is in jeopardy, as negligence is a ground for license revocation in both Missouri and Kansas.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger is prepared to advocate for your best interests and defend you. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with licensing issues.

 

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