Thursday, September 22, 2011

Michael Douglas Has Cancer: Do Catherine Zeta Jones and Mr. Douglas Have a Lawsuit?

Michael Douglas has announced he has state 4 throat cancer, which is very serious indeed. Announced? Michael Douglas has been very, very public about it. He has gone on The David Letterman Show to discuss his cancer fight (video here). He and his wife, Catherine Zeta Jones, have also given numerous media interviews about his condition.

Michael Douglas isn't just announcing -- he's proclaiming that he is in the fight of his life.
Catherine Zeta Jones, moreover, has been bold in her candid remarks to the press: as his wife and the mother of his younger kids, Zeta Jones is "furious" that no medical professional caught the cancer long before now. Zeta Jones has reported that she and husband Michael Douglas knew something was wrong.

They went to doctors. Tests were taken, examinations were had. Zip. Nothing found. Nada.
Until now, when Michael Douglas' throat cancer is already at stage IV. There isn't a stage V. When you compare the list of symptoms at the National Cancer Foundation with the complaints that Michael Douglas was taking to his physicians, you have to wonder. Doesn't seem like such a mystery here, to connect the dots.

Caught late, Michael Douglas claims an 80% chance of beating throat cancer
Michael Douglas has told David Letterman, along with the rest of us, that he's got an 80% chance of surviving this disease, and he's going to follow the standard protocol -- radiation, chemotherapy. Let's all hope and pray that he's right.

Not everyone agrees with the treatment approach Douglas is taking
However, there are professionals out there that don't agree with this type of response. Just today, in the Huffington Post, Dr. Mark Hyman writes a scathing article on the evils of the medical profession. Over at Natural News, Mike Adams shares information concerning current cancer treatments, and compares celebrities who choose the standard route (Patrick Swayze) with those that chose a lifestyle-approach alternative (Suzanne Somers). Dr. Hyman's article should be read.

Legally, what's available to Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas?
Medical malpractice claims -- negligence by physicians and possibly hospitals or clinics -- may be available to Mr. Douglas and his wife. If a health care professional makes a diagnostic mistake of this magnitude, then the law may make them responsible for that error. (Which is why doctors carry insurance, right?)

Wrongful death claims -- hopefully, this won't be an option, but it is in the law in the event that the worst happens. Every state in the union has a wrongful death law, passed by legislatures to bring justice to those who have been injured by the unjust death of another (husband, father).

If Michael Douglas does not win his fight, laws are already on the books to assist Catherine Zeta Jones in bringing the doctors who failed to find this cancer much earlier in time to account for their mistake. Let us hope she does not need to exercise this right.

By Bryant Esquenazi on September 8, 2010 7:08 PM

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