William Mann had a history of smoking. He underwent a routine physical including a chest x-ray, which was interpreted as normal. However, three years later, he was diagnosed as having metastatic lung cancer. In spite of chemotherapy, radiation and other cancer treatments, including a procedure to reinforce the bones in…
Articles Posted in Misdiagnosing Cancer
$5.2 Million Jury Verdict For Wrongful Death of Patient Who Was Misdiagnosed With Internal Hemorrhoids, Not Colon Cancer
David Robinson, who was in his 30s, found blood in his stool. He went to the office of his primary care physician, Dr. William Elder, where he was seen by a physician assistant, David Lamport. Lamport did a cursory physical examination and diagnosed internal hemorrhoids as the origin of blood…
$495,000 Jury Verdict After Delayed Diagnosis of Cancer Leads to Premature Death
Albert Ragin experienced unexplained weight loss and night sweating. At the time he was in his 80s. CT scans without contrast of his chest, abdomen, and pelvis revealed a left kidney cyst, but there were no other kidney abnormalities. About a year later, in 2013, a renal artery Doppler test…
$1.9 Million Settlement for the Paralysis of a 6-Year-Old Child Caused by Late Diagnosis of Pediatric Leukemia
A 6-year-old child suffered from fatigue, constipation, fever, pain and sleeping difficulties for several weeks. The girl was brought to a federal health clinic by her parents. A nurse practitioner examined her, diagnosed constipation and prescribed a suppository and juice. Two days later, a pediatrician confirmed the same misdiagnosis and…
$1.3 Million Settlement for Late Diagnosis of Breast Cancer
Ms. Doe, age 37, developed shortness of breath eight days after giving birth. A CT angiogram to rule out a pulmonary embolism revealed an enlarged right-sided axillary lymph node. Despite this finding, Ms. Doe’s healthcare providers ordered no further follow up. Over a year later, Ms. Doe discovered a lump…
Dismissal of Wrongful Death Medical Malpractice Case Against Veterans Administration for Lack of Causation U.S. Court of Appeals Affirms
In 2011, a radiologist with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) missed identifying a cancerous mass in the liver of James Avery Deweese. Before the mass was finally diagnosed as cancerous in 2013, it had nearly doubled in size. Deweese died shortly thereafter. The family of Deweese — through…
Illinois Appellate Court Affirms $1.7 Million Jury Verdict in Medical Malpractice Misdiagnosed Brain Tumor Case
A neuropathologist, Dr. Meena Gujrati, and her employer, Central Illinois Pathology, were named as defendants in a medical-malpractice lawsuit brought by Rebecca Gapinski who alleged that this doctor misdiagnosed Daniel Gapinski’s brain tumor as being benign. Right before the start of the jury trial, Dr. Gujrati requested permission to proceed…
State Supreme Court Enters Mixed Decision in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit on the Issue of Loss of Chance Doctrine
Mary and Terry Cohan filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Medical Imaging Consultants claiming that the company and its medical providers were negligent in the treatment that caused Mary’s breast cancer to progress undiagnosed for one year. It was alleged that the delay in diagnosis led to her suffering damages…
$4.39 Million Jury Verdict for Late Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer
Sean Pedley was 43 when he developed a lump in his left thigh. An internist, Dr. Syed Danish, ordered an x-ray that did not signify or later lead to a diagnosis. Pedley’s mass grew and became painful over the next two years. When a later biopsy of the mass was…
Failure to Timely Diagnose Lung Cancer Leads to Settlement of $1.47 Million
Gerald Teeuwen, 77, developed a persistent cough. He went to an urgent care facility and later underwent a chest x-ray, which was interpreted as showing a density in his left lung. Teeuwen was referred to a pulmonologist, Dr. Peter Birk. Dr. Birk ordered a second chest x-ray, which radiologist Dr.…