Medical Services Law Update

A Tennesse jury returned a $23,600,000 verdict for a woman and her husband in a failure to diagnose breast cancer case.  The plaintiff was 23 years old when she first informed her Ob/Gyn of a breast lump in July 2003.  She was advised to wait to be seen until her scheduled appointment in August.  At that appointment her doctor examined the lump and classified it as a cyst or fatty deposit that was “nothing to worry about.”  No testing was ordered, and the doctor did not document her findings or any plan to re-examine the lump at subsequent visits.  A January 25, 2005 exam revealed a suspicious lump.  A mammogram and ultrasound showed a cancerous mass.  On February 14, 2005 the plaintiff was diagnosed with stage IV cancer, which had metastisized to her liver and lungs.  The plaintiff's oncology expert opined that the lump reported in July 2003 was most likely Stage I cancer with a 95 % cure rate which progressed to incurable Stage IV cancer by the time of diagnosis in February of 2005.

In Texas, a jury returned a $3.5 million verdict for the estate of a woman who  died of cancer that her PCP had misdiagnosed as a sebaceous cyst a year and a half before the cancer was properly diagnosed.  In the Texas case the jury apportioned 10% of the fault to the plaintiff for waiting to have the lump on her head examined given her family’s history of cancer.   The $3.5 million award will be reduced to $1.5 million pursuant to a Texas law that limits the amount that can be recovered for non-economic damages.

Trend: states adopting a uniform medical license application