Brain Tumors

A brain tumor is a cancerous growth or mass of abnormal cells in brain tissue. Brain tumors can be benign or malignant (often growing and dangerous), and they’re classified as primary (starting in the brain) or secondary (starting elsewhere in the body and spreading to the brain).

Brain tumors are sometimes misdiagnosed or even missed by physicians. When this happens, it may have devastating results. Brett H. Oppenheimer represents individuals and families who have been harmed by medical negligence in Louisville and surrounding regions in Kentucky.

An Alarming Number of Brain Tumor Cases

According to the American Brain Tumor Association, nearly 45,000 new cases of brain tumors are diagnosed each year in the U.S., a figure comprised of only primary tumors, not the many more that are secondary. The number of secondary brain tumors is about four times that of primary tumors. The two types of cancer that most frequently spread to the brain are lung cancer and breast cancer, each of which develops in many thousands of Americans each year.

The 45,000 new brain tumor cases also include the roughly 2,500 brain tumors diagnosed each year in children under the age of 15.

Failure to Diagnose or Correctly Treat a Brain Tumor

If a physician, diagnostician, laboratory or other healthcare entity fails to diagnose a brain tumor in a timely manner, or if the treatment for a brain tumor is substandard, the consequences can be very serious — even fatal. The effects of an undiagnosed or inadequately treated brain tumor include (but aren’t limited to):

• Permanent brain damage, including IQ loss
• Double vision, loss of vision, other vision problems
• Headaches
• Hearing impairment
• Cognitive dysfunction
• Sleep disturbances
• Fatigue
• Inability to regulate one’s body temperature
• Paralysis
• Behavioral problems

Medical Malpractice Representation

In light of the brain’s complex functions, it’s all the more critical that a tumor in this organ be identified as early as possible and treated correctly.

If you suspect or know that an instance of medical negligence has occurred, you can contact the Louisville medical malpractice attorney at Brett H. Oppenheimer, PLLC in Kentucky.