Articles Posted in Misdiagnosing Cancer

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Janice Rowland, 59, underwent a Pap smear that was interpreted as normal. Two and half years later, she developed post-menopausal bleeding and pelvic pain. She then underwent a cervical biopsy. The biopsy led to a diagnosis of metastatic cervical cancer, and she died several months later. Rowland was survived by her husband.

On behalf of her estate, her husband sued Quest Diagnostics, which was the company that misread the Pap smear. It was alleged in the lawsuit that its cytotechnologist misinterpreted the Pap smear slides. If read correctly, the slide would have showed evidence of cancer and necessitated review by a pathologist. The lawsuit did not claim lost income.

The jury signed a verdict for $4 million. However, it was reported that post-trial motions are pending.
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Mr. Doe, age 48, was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He underwent laparoscopic bilateral lymph node dissection surgery by two HMO urologists. During this surgery, the obturator nerve was severed, which left Mr. Doe unable to control his right leg. He was unable to continue in his job as a grounds maintenance worker. He has lost $5,000 in income. He now works at a less strenuous job for the same salary.

Mr. Doe sued the HMO claiming its urologists negligently performed the laparoscopy. The lawsuit specifically claimed that the doctors chose not isolate and protect the nerve while trying to remove the lymph node packet and chose not reattach the nerve after it was transected.

The defendants argued that the injury to the obturator nerve is rare.  They also maintained that severing that nerve is a known complication of this surgery. Before trial, the parties settled confidentially.

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Leanna Loud was 39 years old when she underwent a digital mammogram. The radiologist and defendant, Dr. Jeffrey Short, an employee of Charleston Radiologists, read the mammogram as showing dystrophic calcifications in the right breast; this was not present on an earlier mammogram.

Dr. Short characterized the calcifications as benign and did not order any additional testing.

Approximately 2 years later, she discovered a lump in her right breast. She was diagnosed as having Stage III invasive ductal carcinoma.

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On Aug. 4, 2011, Jill Prusak filed a medical malpractice case within both the two-year statute of limitation and four-year statute of repose under Section 13-212(a). The lawsuit contained a two-count complaint against the defendants, University of Chicago Medical Center and other medical providers who have since been dismissed from the case. It was alleged that Dr. Rama Jager misdiagnosed Prusak’s macular pathology and that this misdiagnosis led to the defendants’ choosing to not recognize nervous system lymphoma.

The first count alleged negligence against the University of Chicago defendants and asserted that Dr. Jager was an agent or apparent agent of the University of Chicago defendants.  The second count of the complaint made the same allegations with respect to Advocate defendants and the Christ Hospital defendants.

Prusak died on Nov. 24, 2013 after the expiration of the four-year statute of repose. On March 11, 2014, the trial court granted Prusak’s daughter, Sheri Lawler, leave to file an amended complaint, substituting herself as party plaintiff and as the executor of Prusak’s estate.

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Glenn Garofano, 63, underwent an ultrasound of his gallbladder, which revealed gallstones and a 4-cm mass on his liver. He then underwent a CT scan, which radiologist Dr. Clifford Barker reported as showing no evidence of a mass. Dr. Barker also suggested that Garofano consider an MRI. Thirteen months later, Garofano was hospitalized for Lyme disease and underwent testing, which led to a diagnosis of metastatic liver cancer that had spread to his heart.

Garofano died two months after the diagnosis and was survived by his wife and three adult children. His family filed a lawsuit against Dr. Barker alleging that he chose not to order the MRI or a liver biopsy in light of the previous test results. It was claimed that had adequate testing been done and a timely diagnosis been received, Garofano would have had a 42% chance of survival. The lawsuit does not claim lost income. Thus, the lawsuit was for the lost opportunity to save Garofano from his untimely death. The jury’s verdict was for $7 million.

The attorney representing the Garofano family was Paul A. O’Connor.

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Benjamin Serico was 58 years old when he underwent a colonoscopy done by a colorectal surgeon, Dr. Robert Rothberg. Dr. Rothberg informed Serico that the test did not reveal any signs of colon cancer.

Two years later, Serico was diagnosed with having metastatic colon cancer; despite a treatment plan, Serico later died of the cancer. He had been an assistant professor and was survived by his wife and two sons.

The Serico family sued Dr. Rothberg, claiming that his choosing not to remove a polyp during the colonoscopy procedure and then failing to properly perform the test, led to the late diagnosis of cancer. The jury’s verdict was $6 million in favor of the estate of Serico and his wife for the wrongful death and medical malpractice.

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Curtis Cole, 58, underwent a chest X-ray when he reported respiratory symptoms to his physician. A radiologist, Dr. Mike Mantinaos, interpreted the X-ray as showing no nodular abnormalities.

About 3 years later however, Cole experienced pain, prompting him to request a chest and abdominal CT scan. The CT scan revealed a mass on his right lung as well as several in his liver, which were determined to be malignant.

Cole died of cancer two years later and was survived by his wife and adult son. He had been a senior application specialist in a metal manufacturing company earning $35,000 per year.

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John Ficke was 50 years old when he developed a growth on his chest. His treating dermatologist performed a shave biopsy and sent the specimen to Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where a dermatology pathologist, Dr. Asher Rabinowitz, interpreted the growth as noncancerous. However, one year later, Ficke underwent a punch biopsy of the same growth and Dr. Rabinowitz reported this time the presence of desmoplastic melanoma.

Ficke underwent treatment including chemotherapy and radiation. However, the unfortunate part is that the cancer had metastasized and progressed to Stage IV.

Ficke and his wife brought a lawsuit against the Columbia University Hospital and Dr. Rabinowitz claiming a failure to correctly diagnose the melanoma, which the plaintiffs argued was present on the very first biopsy but missed by the defendants. The claim did not include lost income.

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Darian Wisekal had a pap smear in August 2008. The slide was sent to Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp). A LabCorp technologist errantly interpreted the slide as “negative for intraepithelial lesion and malignancy.” A squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL) is an abnormal growth of cells on the surface of the cervix, commonly referred to as squamous cells. When diagnosed, this condition may lead to cervical cancer but can be diagnosed using a pap smear. Wisekal died of cervical cancer some three years after the errant read of the slides. She was survived by her husband and two daughters.

John Wisekal, Darian’s husband and her personal representative of the estate, filed a medical malpractice and wrongful death case in Florida’s state court. The lawsuit was removed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

The Wisekal family claimed that as a result of the misread, Wisekal’s cervical cancer spread and became untreatable. The defendants denied a standard of care failure and also maintained that the disease, cervical cancer, which was the cause of her premature death, was not subject to diagnosis in 2008. The defendants argued that even if the LabCorp cytotechnologist had correctly interpreted the relevant Pap smear as atypical, she would not have presented with cervical cancer.

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Anna Rahm, 17, began experiencing back pain without relief. Anna’s parents took her to a chiropractor who suggested that she be taken to a physician so that she could undergo an MRI scan. Anna met with her primary care physician at Southern California Permanente Medical Group and was prescribed steroids.

Anna’s mother requested that Anna receive an MRI in light of her 8 months of back pain. However, the doctor said that she could not authorize the test. Anna consulted a physical medicine physician at the HMO clinic who denied her request for an MRI and instead recommended an epidural injection and exercise.

Anna’s back pain increased despite attempts to treat it with acupuncture.

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