Failure to Diagnose Cancer

Some Case Studies:

Our client underwent an appendectomy and the appendix was submitted to the defendant pathologist for examination. The pathologist failed to diagnose cancer of the appendix. Our client’s appendiceal cancer therefore went undiagnosed and untreated and was allowed to spread for six years, ultimately causing her death at age 62.

This case settled after suit, but prior to trial for a confidential amount.
Counsel: Mark A. Abramson, Esquire Kevin F. Dugan, Esquire

Our 55 year old client’s prostate cancer went undiagnosed and untreated when his doctor failed to order necessary tests.

This case settled after suit, but prior to trial for a confidential amount.
Counsel: Kevin F. Dugan, Esquire Mark A. Abramson, Esquire

Our 30 year old client developed cervical cancer, which went undiagnosed and untreated, because her pap smears were misread. As a result, the cancer grew unchecked and she required extensive surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy with multiple permanent complications.

This case settled after suit, but prior to trial for a confidential amount.
Counsel: Kenneth C. Brown, Esquire Kevin F. Dugan, Esquire

Our 41 year old client’s bowel cancer went undiagnosed and untreated when it was incorrectly diagnosed as gastritis.

This case settled after suit, but prior to trial for a confidential amount.
Counsel: Mark A. Abramson, Esquire Kevin F. Dugan, Esquire

Our clients’ child was seen numerous times by several physicians before he was finally diagnosed with a large cancerous tumor in his pelvic area. Subsequently, he was hospitalized for approximately three weeks and underwent a twelve and a half hour radical excision surgery at a Boston hospital. This surgery resulted in the child having a permanent colostomy, partial colectomy, and ischial ostectomy. He had to learn to do colostomy care and self-catheterization as well as enter into home physical therapy in order to familiarize himself with a walker which enabled him to gain the ability to walk once again.

This case settled after suit, but prior to trial for a confidential amount.
Counsel: Kenneth C. Brown, Esquire Kevin F. Dugan, Esquire

Our client’s wife experienced shortness of breath and night sweats causing her to see her doctor. X-rays showed a mass in her chest. Further testing was read as cancer – likely Hodgkin’s Disease. The doctors performed a biopsy of the mass and in the course of the procedure severed an artery requiring otherwise unnecessary surgery. The sample from the biopsy was read as cancerous but the doctors were not sure what type. As a result, instead of starting treatment, they decided to wait and allow the disease to express itself. Several months later, the definitive diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Disease was made, but the cancer had spread throughout her body. By that time, extensive treatment was unsuccessful and she died.

The case was tried in Coos County Superior Court in 1992 resulting in a jury verdict for our client in the amount of $250,000. The doctors appealed the case to the New Hampshire Supreme Court which upheld the verdict. Interest which accrued during the appeal brought the final sum to nearly $450,000.
Counsel: Kevin F. Dugan, Esquire

Our client sought treatment for complaints of left-sided facial numbness. Sinus x-rays were ordered and were interpreted by a radiologist as normal. No further studies were recommended. The client was subsequently diagnosed with advanced cancer of the nasopharynx which had been missed on the x-rays.

The case settled before suit was filed for a confidential amount.
Counsel: Mark A. Abramson, Esquire Kevin F. Dugan, Esquire

Our clients’ young daughter had a chest x-ray done in April of 1990 for what was thought to be a respiratory infection. It was read as essentially normal, despite the presence of an abnormality on the film. In December of 1990, she was admitted to the hospital and found to have a large cancerous tumor in her chest. Her left lung was removed and chemotherapy damaged her heart to the point that she required a transplant. Although the cancer was treated successfully, she died due to complications from the heart transplant just before her tenth birthday.

This case settled after suit, but prior to trial for a confidential amount.
Counsel: Mark A. Abramson, Esquire Kevin F. Dugan, Esquire

Our client was 28 years old when she first presented to her doctor in November of 1996 after feeling a breast lump in the upper outer quadrant of her left breast while doing a self breast examination. She had been doing self breast examinations monthly for 10 years and this was the first time she detected an abnormality. Her doctor performed a clinical breast examination but was unable to feel the lump which our client complained of and noted only “fibrocystic change” in both breasts. Our client’s doctor reassured her that it was probably nothing to worry about and instructed her to return in two months for an annual physical examination, including a breast examination. Our client did not return to this doctor, but was seen by other health care providers for primary health care. The left breast lump persisted and in July, 1998, our client was diagnosed with breast cancer in the upper outer quadrant of the left breast, with extensive lymph node involvement (21 out of 25 nodes positive for cancer). She underwent surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy and is currently disease free but still at risk for recurrence of cancer.

This case went to trial and a verdict was reached for the plaintiff in the amount of $3 million. This is the largest verdict in New Hampshire for a breast cancer case.
Counsel: Mark A. Abramson, Esquire Kevin F. Dugan, Esquire

Our 44 year old client had yearly mammograms from 1991 through 1993 that were all interpreted as normal by a local radiology group. In 1994, during a yearly gynecological examination, our client brought to the attention of her health care provider lumps that she felt in her right breast. A mammogram was ordered and interpreted as normal by the same radiology group as her prior mammograms. In 1996, our client contacted her health care provider with complaints of bloody nipple discharge in her right breast. Testing was performed, including a mammogram and ultrasound, which demonstrated a lesion approximately 2.5 to 3 centimeters in size. A biopsy was obtained and confirmed stage II B infiltrating ductal carcinoma. Due to the X-Ray association’s failure to properly interpret the radiological studies of our client, her breast cancer went undiagnosed and untreated from at least December of 1993 through January of 1996. Due to the delay in the detection of our client’s breast cancer, she was forced to undergo a surgical radical mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, including skin grafting. The surgeries resulted in a delay in her chemotherapy, necessitating a prolonged and potent course of chemotherapy.

This case settled after suit, but prior to trial for a confidential amount.
Counsel: Kenneth C. Brown, Esquire

Our client went to a women’s clinic for contraceptive advice and soon thereafter complained of a palpable breast lump. Ultrasound examination failed to reveal a definite mass. The mass increased in size and a diagnosis of breast cancer was made seven months later, followed by radical mastectomy and chemotherapy.

This case settled after suit, but prior to trial for a confidential amount.
Counsel: Mark A. Abramson, Esquire Kevin F. Dugan, Esquire

Our client had a lump in her breast which was mistakenly diagnosed as benign fibrocystic disease. The cancerous lump grew unchecked and spread. She was properly diagnosed more than two years after she should have been. As a result of the delay in diagnosis, the cancer had metastasized requiring numerous trials of chemotherapy, a radical mastectomy and a bone marrow transplant.

This case settled after suit, but prior to trial for a confidential amount.
Counsel: Mark A. Abramson, Esquire Kevin F. Dugan, Esquire

Our client presented to her gynecologist with complaints of a lump in her breast. She indicated a family history of breast cancer. She was examined by the doctor, who noted an indentation in the skin to the right and beneath the right nipple and a possible mass. She was referred to the local breast health center for a mammogram. During a breast examination at the clinic, it was again noted that the there was a family history of breast cancer. It was also noted that she had dimpling on her right breast and tenderness during examination. She was reassured and told that the results would be forwarded to her gynecologist. Upon reading the films, the radiologist correctly reported no radiographic evidence of malignancy. The client subsequently relocated to Texas. She presented to a local doctor there with complaints of pain in her lower extremities. During a physical examination, the dimpling of the right breast was noticed. She was again referred for a mammogram which revealed an area approximately 3 cm x 1.5 cm that was suspicious for malignancy. Biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of breast cancer. She subsequently underwent a right radical mastectomy and left simple mastectomy and remains at high risk for recurrence of cancer.

The case was submitted to binding arbitration. The client and her husband were awarded $345,631.59.
Counsel: Kevin F. Dugan, Esquire

Our client was admitted to the hospital with chronic cholecystitis and underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Her doctor also noted the pancreas to be enlarged, including a “marble size” mass which he attributed to pancreatitis. She was discharged with a diagnosis of chronic cholecystitis. She continued to have severe abdominal pain which was treated several times over a period of years. Further testing was also recommended but never carried out. The client was never told of these recommendations. Ultimately, it was discovered that the client had been suffering from pancreatic cancer and that it had metastasized to the liver.

The case settled after suit but prior to trial for a confidential amount.
Counsel: Kevin F. Dugan, Esquire