Articles Posted in Misdiagnosing Cancer

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Craig Beaubien was referred to a hematologist, Dr. Charu Trivedi, to determine the cause of an abnormal blood test showing a high hematocrit level. When the hematocrit value is high, the proportion of red blood cells in the blood is higher than normal. This can indicate dehydration, a disorder that causes the body to produce too many red blood cells, such as polycythemia vera, or lung or heart disease.

Dr. Trivedi allegedly determined that kidney cancer was one of the possible causes for the hematocrit result, but did not order any diagnostic testing to rule out the cancer.

Approximately seven months later, Beaubien developed headaches. He underwent imaging, which showed an 8.3 cm tumor in his kidney. The tumor was cancerous and had metastasized to the brain. As a result, Beaubien underwent radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and surgery. Despite this treatment, he died. He was survived by his wife.
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Ms. Doe, who had a history of breast cancer, underwent regular breast MRIs. After a tumor was identified on an MRI, her treating radiologist reviewed previous scans and allegedly confirmed that they had been misread as normal for several years. By the time the correct diagnosis was issued, Ms. Doe’s breast cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.

Ms. Doe required chemotherapy and radiation and now has a reduced life expectancy. Furthermore, she incurred $341,000 in medical expenses and $19,000 in lost income.

Ms. Doe sued undisclosed defendants for choosing not to timely diagnose and treat her breast cancer. Had Ms. Doe received an earlier diagnosis, it was claimed that she could have been treated successfully with surgery.
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Mr. Doe had a family history of colon cancer. He also had a personal history of ulcerative colitis. He underwent regular colonoscopies.

In 2016, one of the pathology specimens collected during his colonoscopy found to be “indefinite dysplasia.” Dysplasia describes the presence of abnormal cells within a tissue or organ. Dysplasia is not cancer, but it may sometimes become cancer.

Mr. Doe’s treating gastroenterologist allegedly did not note this condition, dysplasia, in his record. Mr. Doe later received a letter indicating his results were normal. He then received a form letter stating that he was due for a repeat colonoscopy in 2019, but this was never done.
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The defendants, Gregg Coccaro, M.D., and Associated Saint James Radiologist, S.C., appealed from the $6.5 million jury verdict in this medical malpractice lawsuit. The appeal raised the following two issues:

(1) Did the trial court abuse its discretion in making a series of rulings related to evidence, argument and instruction that unfairly prejudiced defendants and thus warranted a new trial; and

(2) Did the trial court err in awarding prejudgment interest because the General Assembly’s 2021 amendment mandating prejudgment interest in personal injury and wrongful death cases (735 ILCS 5/2-1303(c) (West Supp. 2021)) violated the Illinois constitution?
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Yahaira Perez, 39, experienced pain in her right upper quadrant. She went to a hospital emergency room where a CT scan revealed thickening of the colon and an incidental finding of an enlarged cervix with a 2.5 cm lesion.

Perez consulted her gynecologist, Dr. Mohammad Nizam, who scheduled her for emergency surgery to remove her cervix.

Post-operatively, the cervical pathology showed that Perez suffered from chronic cervicitis and a cyst instead of cancer. As a result of the unnecessary surgery, Perez suffered nerve damage and pelvic prolapse.
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Chasidy Plunkard, 40, experienced pelvic pain and irregular bleeding. After undergoing a transvaginal ultrasound and diagnosed as having a cyst in the right ovary, she was referred to an osteopath, Dr. Charles Marks, who did an endometrial biopsy.

The biopsy was interpreted as benign. Dr. Marks allegedly told Plunkard that absent abnormal bleeding, nothing more needed to be done for her.

However, nine months later, Plunkard sought treatment for what was described as widespread pain. She also presented to a hospital emergency room five months later, complaining of severe abdominal pain. Plunkard underwent laparoscopic surgery and was later advised that she suffered from metastatic cancer.
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Lonnie Kersey had a family history of prostate cancer. He took Avodart to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia. His treating internist, Dr. Michael Pisano, allegedly ordered lab work in 2012 and 2014, including a prostate-specific antigen test (PSA).

The following year, Dr. Pisano allegedly ordered another PSA, which showed a value of 3.0 ng/mL, nearly triple the previous results.

Dr. Pisano ordered further testing two years later, at which point Kersey’s PSA was significantly elevated at 203.3 ng/mL. This led to a biopsy and diagnosis of Stage IV prostate cancer.
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Ms. Doe, 48, was admitted to a hospital where blood work showed several severe abnormalities. Nonetheless, Dr. Roe, the hospitalist overseeing Ms. Doe’s care, discharged her. Ms. Doe’s condition worsened, and she returned to the hospital. She was diagnosed with leukemia and was then transferred to another hospital, where she was diagnosed with lymphoma.

Ms. Doe died two weeks after she first presented to the hospital. She was survived by her husband and five children.

The lawsuit against the hospitalist and others alleged medical negligence and wrongful death. The Doe family claimed that the hospitalist should not have discharged Ms. Doe in light of her abnormal blood work. It was also alleged that the defendant chose not to provide the correct diagnosis of lymphoma. Lymphoma was the cause of death listed on Ms. Doe’s death certificate.
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Doe, 21, experienced right testicle pain. He went to his local hospital emergency room complaining of persistent pain. An ultrasound showed a hematoma or neoplasm. Doe was referred to a urologist who allegedly told him that he likely had a hematoma and that it would take a long time to heal.

The following month, Doe went to a family practice doctor complaining of swelling in his right breast. Doe told the doctor about his testicle injury weeks earlier and said that his condition had improved. Doe’s testicle pain and swelling persisted after the appointment with the family practice physician. Doe again consulted the same doctor; he ordered an ultrasound and performed a testicle exam. Doe was referred to a urologist.

Before Doe was able to meet with the urologist, he experienced severe pain and went to a hospital emergency room. The urologist who saw Doe that day scheduled him for surgery to treat testicle trauma.
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Gerald Culhane went to his primary care physician at Buffalo Veterans Administration Medical Center, complaining of a lump in his neck over a three-month period. A CT scan was reviewed by a radiologist as being unremarkable. Culhane was told that he did not require a follow-up.

About a year and a half later, he called the Veteran’s Administration and reported that his neck lump was continuing to grow. Another CT scan led to a diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma in the left tonsil, which required 40 rounds of radiation and 7 cycles of chemotherapy. The cancer recurred. Culhane later underwent a radical tonsillectomy and neck dissection.

Culhane and his wife sued the United States under the Federal Torts Claims Act (FTCA), alleging that the Veteran’s Administration Hospital chose not to timely diagnose squamous cell carcinoma. The Culhane family also alleged that a mass was obviously present when the first CT scan was done and that the scan was wrongly interpreted as negative.
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