Are medical malpractice suits difficult to pursue when it involves oncology?

When a patient has suspected stage 3 colon cancer and the oncologist drags his feet in testing, resulting in a postponement of treatment, which leads to further spread to the point that is beyond hope of remission, would it be difficult to prove this in an arbitration?

How much time elapsed? What else was going on during this time period? What proof do you have that the cancer spread during this time period? These are some questions to consider.

A delay in treatment in the order of a few weeks to even a month is not out of the ordinary. You say "suspected Stage III", perhaps staging was going on during this time including scans. You need to know what stage the cancer is before you can determine what chemo regimen to use on someone. Also, I don't know how old the patient is, but was the doctor trying to get testing done on the heart and lungs to be sure they were strong enough to take the chemo? All of this info is quite necessary to safely treat someone or else the physician could be found negligent if something bad happened to the patient.

Sounds like you might have a case... however, you should find a respected attorney which specializes in malpractice suits, especially for oncology. I'm sure he/she could provide further insight and let you know if you have a solid case.

I'm sure it is very hard! I personally would not even bother because maybe he wasn't necessarily dragging his feet...maybe he had to wait on the testings. If you have the money and you think you have a case, go out and find an great attorney and fight it.