From time to time, a wrongful death lawyer in Farmington, Utah or elsewhere faces lawsuits against doctors who have been negligent in their patient care. Most often, doctors will misdiagnose someone or fail to diagnose when symptoms present themselves early on. Recently, the American Cancer Society (ACS) changed its mammogram recommendations, which may raise a red flag for some.
The organization, which has previously “taken the most aggressive approach to screening,” as stated by The New York Times, has raised the age of a recommended routine mammogram from 40 to 45. It has also strayed from suggesting regular clinical breast exams, which may lead to some doctor-patient confusion.
It’s important to know your rights. As stated by Nurenberg and Paris, “Physicians that fail to prescribe a mammogram to their patients before age 45 will be absolved from liability.” Thus, if someone in Farmington were to suffer wrongful death due to a breast cancer misdiagnosis as a result of the age change, a lawyer might not be able to defend her case.
Although mammograms are imperfect scans and can sometimes lead to false positive readings, it’s never a bad idea to stay up to date in the realm of health care. Especially when it becomes harder to prove a doctor’s liability for negligence.