Anaheim Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyer

You trusted your doctor when they said that lump was nothing to worry about. You believed them when they told you your mammogram looked fine. You followed their advice to “wait and see” instead of getting that second opinion you were considering. Now, months later, you’re facing a breast cancer diagnosis that could have been caught much earlier.

If this sounds like your story, you’re not alone. Women in Anaheim deal with breast cancer misdiagnoses far too often, and it happens at trusted facilities like Kaiser Permanente Anaheim Medical Center, Anaheim Regional Medical Center, and imaging centers throughout the city. 

When your doctor misses the signs or misreads your scans, you lose valuable time and treatment options.

At Hodes Milman, we understand what you’re going through right now—the anger, the confusion, the “what if” questions that keep you up at night. With over 30 years of experience and more than $200 million won for clients, we’ve helped women across Orange County get answers about what went wrong and hold their healthcare providers accountable for breast cancer misdiagnosis.

Call (949) 640-8222 or message us online for a free case review with an Anaheim breast cancer misdiagnosis attorney. We’ll listen, answer your questions, and help you understand your options.

When You Know Something Went Wrong

Perhaps you’re reading this because your gut told you something was amiss, but your doctor kept reassuring you that everything was fine. Maybe you had symptoms for months before anyone took you seriously. Or maybe you just found out your Stage 3 breast cancer could have been caught when it was Stage 1 if someone had looked more carefully at your mammogram.

These situations happen every day in Anaheim. Women visit their doctors with concerns about breast changes. They get mammograms at imaging centers throughout the city. They trust that if something were wrong, someone would catch it. But sometimes the system fails, and by the time cancer is finally diagnosed, it’s more advanced than it should have been.

One woman who came to us after a misdiagnosis shared:

“In October 2020, we found ourselves in need of a law firm to represent us in a medical malpractice lawsuit. After interviewing four different law firms in Orange County, we settled on Dan Hodes and Jacob Brender of Hodes Milman. From the first Zoom meeting, we felt confident that they would give this case the attention it needed. Kind and courteous with great attention to details, Jacob and Dan worked with us for months, and the result was a settlement that exceeded our expectations and will help us live comfortably moving forward.”

The relief in her voice when she told us her story was real. She finally had answers about what happened and felt like someone was fighting for her.

How Breast Cancer Gets Missed in Anaheim

You might be wondering how doctors miss breast cancer in 2025. Unfortunately, it happens more often than you’d think, and it’s usually due to a combination of rushed appointments, miscommunication, and human error.

Here’s what we see most often in cases involving Anaheim healthcare providers:

• Your doctor dismisses your concerns. You mention a lump or breast pain during a routine visit, but your doctor barely examines you and says it’s probably hormonal. No imaging was ordered, and no follow-up was scheduled.
  
• Your mammogram gets misread. The radiologist at your imaging center may rush through readings or fail to compare your current mammogram with previous ones. They miss subtle changes that would have been obvious with more careful review.
• You have dense breast tissue, but nobody tells you what that means. Dense tissue makes it harder to spot cancer on mammograms, but many women in Anaheim never learn they need additional screening like ultrasounds or MRIs.
• Test results fall through the cracks. Your mammogram shows something suspicious, but the report never reaches your doctor, or your doctor receives it but forgets to call you with the results.
• Language barriers create confusion. If English isn’t your first language, important details about your symptoms might get lost in translation, leading to delayed or inadequate testing.

Where Misdiagnoses Happen in Anaheim

Our Anaheim breast cancer misdiagnosis lawyer team has handled cases involving healthcare providers throughout the city. Some of the facilities where we’ve seen diagnostic errors include:

• Kaiser Permanente Anaheim Medical Center. Kaiser’s system is supposed to coordinate your care, but sometimes that coordination breaks down. Your primary care doctor might not see abnormal mammogram results, or the radiologist might not have access to your previous scans for comparison.
• Anaheim Regional Medical Center. High patient volume at this busy facility can lead to rushed examinations and delayed reporting of test results. We’ve seen cases where women waited weeks to hear about abnormal findings.
• Independent Imaging Centers. Smaller imaging centers throughout Anaheim sometimes lack the resources for second opinions or quality assurance programs that catch reading errors.
• Private Practice Physicians. Some doctors in private practice don’t stay current with breast cancer screening guidelines or don’t have strong relationships with imaging centers to ensure timely follow-up.

What a Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyer in Anaheim Does for You

When you call us, we don’t immediately start talking about lawsuits. We start by listening to your story and trying to understand what happened. Attorney Dan Hodes has been handling breast cancer misdiagnosis cases for decades, and he explains his approach this way:

“Breast cancer: Unfortunately, it’s a fact of modern life. But breast cancer misdiagnosis? That shouldn’t be. If a woman is regularly seeing a doctor for any condition related to her breasts and is later diagnosed with breast cancer, there’s a possibility that that doctor could have diagnosed the disease earlier. 

What we do at Hodes Milman is go back, look at medical records, breast imaging, and pathology slides, and determine whether the doctor was negligent.”

Here’s what that investigation looks like for you:

• We get your records. You don’t have to chase down files from different doctors and imaging centers. We handle all of that.
• We review everything with board-certified specialists. Radiologists examine your actual mammogram images, not just the written reports. Oncologists review your case to determine when the cancer should have been caught.
• We create a timeline. When did you first notice symptoms? When did you mention them to your doctor? When were tests ordered? When did the results come back? This timeline often reveals where things went wrong.
• We explain what we find. Medical records can be confusing, but we explain what happened in clear and understandable terms, so you know exactly where the breakdown occurred.

Take the case of a 60-year-old teacher whose mammograms showed signs of cancer in 2018 and again in 2020, but radiologists failed to recognize abnormal tissue patterns that indicated malignancy. By the time her breast cancer was finally diagnosed in 2021, it had already spread. We secured a $1.75 million settlement for her case.

The Real Impact of a Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis

You already know that catching breast cancer early makes a huge difference in treatment and survival. But when you’re living through a breast cancer misdiagnosis, the impact goes beyond medical statistics. It affects every part of your life.

• Your treatment becomes more aggressive. Instead of a simple lumpectomy, you might need a mastectomy. Instead of targeted radiation, you might need months of chemotherapy. The treatment you’re facing now could have been much less invasive if cancer had been caught earlier.
• Your family is affected. Your children see you going through intensive treatment. Your spouse takes time off work to drive you to appointments. Everyone’s life gets turned upside down because someone missed the signs months ago.
• You lose peace of mind. Even after treatment, you worry about recurrence. You wonder if the cancer would have been less likely to come back if it had been caught at Stage 1 instead of Stage 3.
• You face financial stress. The treatment you need now is more expensive than what you would have needed with early detection. You may miss more work, incur higher medical bills, or require ongoing care that you wouldn’t have needed otherwise.

Too many women in Anaheim face breast cancer misdiagnoses that delay critical treatment. Talk to Hodes Milman about what your doctors got wrong. Call (949) 640-8222 or reach out here. The consultation is free.

Filing a Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawsuit in Anaheim

If you’re considering legal action, you probably have mixed feelings about it. You’re angry about what happened, but you also feel guilty about “suing your doctor.” You want accountability, but you’re not sure if you have a case.

Here’s what you should know: Not every delayed diagnosis is malpractice, but many are. The key question is whether your doctor or healthcare provider failed to meet the standard of care that any reasonable physician would have provided in the same situation.

To have a valid case, we need to show:

1. Your doctor had a duty to diagnose your cancer reasonably promptly
2. They failed to meet that duty by missing obvious signs or not following proper protocols
3. Their failure caused you harm—meaning your condition is worse now than it would have been with earlier detection

The last point is crucial. We work with medical experts to compare your current situation with what it likely would have been if cancer had been caught earlier. This analysis helps determine what compensation you might be entitled to receive.

Why You Need an Experienced Anaheim Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyer

You might be wondering if you really need a lawyer for this, especially if the facts seem clear-cut. The truth is, medical malpractice cases are incredibly complex, and insurance companies are aware that most people lack a thorough understanding of the legal system.

Research backs this up. A study by Martindale-Nolo found that over 90% of people who hired a lawyer received a settlement or award. In contrast, only about 50% of those who handled their cases independently were able to recover compensation.

That’s a significant difference, and it exists because:

• Medical malpractice law is complicated. There are specific procedures, deadlines, and requirements that can be easily missed if you’re not familiar with them.
• You need medical experts to support your case. To prove malpractice occurred, qualified doctors must review your records and testify about what should have happened differently.
• Insurance companies have lawyers. The hospital’s or doctor’s insurance company will have experienced attorneys working to minimize any payout. You need someone on your side who knows their tactics.
• You’re dealing with cancer. The last thing you should be worrying about while undergoing treatment is navigating a complex legal case.

Another case that illustrates why professional representation matters involved a mother of two whose routine mammogram in March 2011 was misread. The radiologist failed to investigate concerning findings with additional views and an ultrasound. 

When she finally saw a breast oncologist in July 2012, he determined that if she had received a proper diagnosis in 2011, her high-grade triple-negative tumor would have had an 80-90% cure rate. Tragically, she died from cancer that could have been curable with earlier detection. Hodes Milman secured a $680,000 settlement for her surviving family.

What a Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyer in Anaheim Can Help You Recover

If you have a valid breast cancer misdiagnosis case, you may be entitled to compensation for:

• Additional medical expenses—the difference between what your treatment costs now versus what it would have cost with earlier detection.
• Lost wages—time off work for more extensive treatment, or reduced earning capacity if your condition affects your ability to work.
• Pain and suffering—the physical and emotional distress caused by more advanced cancer and more aggressive treatment.
• Future care costs—ongoing monitoring, potential reconstruction surgery, or other long-term medical needs.
• Loss of life expectancy—if the misdiagnosis significantly reduced your expected lifespan.

Every case is different, and the amount of compensation depends on your specific circumstances. During your free case review, an Anaheim breast cancer misdiagnosis attorney can discuss what might be possible in your situation.

Taking the First Step

If you suspect your breast cancer misdiagnosis was due to medical negligence, the most important thing you can do is act quickly. California law limits how long you have to file a medical malpractice claim, and waiting too long could mean losing your right to seek compensation.

Here are some signs that you might have a case:

• You mentioned breast symptoms to your doctor, but they didn’t order imaging.
• Your mammogram showed abnormalities, but nobody followed up with you.
• You had a “probably benign” finding, but no one scheduled monitoring.
• Multiple doctors saw you before anyone took your concerns seriously.
• Your cancer stage seems inconsistent with how long you’ve had symptoms.

Even if you’re unsure whether you have a case, it’s worth discussing with our Anaheim breast cancer misdiagnosis law firm. We offer no-cost case reviews specifically so women in your situation can get answers without any financial risk.

Learning More About Cancer Misdiagnoses

Anaheim breast cancer misdiagnosis attorney Dan Hodes has spent decades investigating breast cancer misdiagnosis cases and understanding how these preventable errors occur. 

In a recent episode of the Cases 4 Causes podcast, he discusses the factors behind missed diagnoses, why early detection saves lives, and how healthcare systems fail to meet basic safety standards.

This conversation provides valuable insights for women who want to understand what went wrong in their own cases and why holding healthcare providers accountable matters for everyone.

Listen to the podcast here.

Call Hodes Milman Today

At Hodes Milman, we understand that calling a lawyer about your medical care is a big step. You might feel like you’re betraying your doctor’s trust or that you’re being dramatic. Those feelings are normal, but don’t let them stop you from getting the answers you deserve.

Since 1982, we’ve been helping women throughout Orange County seek justice after medical negligence. We know how to investigate these cases, and we’re not intimidated by hospital lawyers or insurance companies.

You shouldn’t have to wonder what happened or struggle with the financial burden of more extensive treatment because someone missed the signs of your breast cancer.

Call us at (949) 640-8222 or fill out our online form to start your free consultation today.

Common Questions About Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis Cases