Physicians To Pay $12,000,000 Jury Award In Lawsuit Involving Delayed Diagnosis Of Breast Cancer

One of the main tools available to assist physicians in saving the lives of women is the mammogram

, a test that checks for indications of possible cancer in the breast, allowing physicians to identify the cancer in its early stages. Still, the mammogram is only as effective as the physician who interprets it. If the physician misreads the mammogram the cancer can go undetected until a future mammogram or such time as a lump is noticed by a breast examination. This holdup may be enough time for the cancer to spread, lowering the likelihood that the patient will be able to save the breast or survive the cancer.

As an example, look at the documented matter of a woman who had a routine mammogram and was told that there was no evidence of cancer. Roughly two years afterward, the woman underwent another mammogram. This time the mammogram was interpreted as showing no change to the dilated duct from the previous mammogram. Yet, the earlier mammogram was free of a dilated duct and hence the doctors did nothing to look into the suspicious change from the previous, clean, mammogram. Her mammogram was misinterpreted and her cancer was not detected. When the patient had a subsequent mammogram performed at another hospital the coming year, the physician interpreting the mammogram noted various small nodular densities. The doctor observed that these remained unchanged from the past mammograms. Yet, neither of the prior mammograms had shown any nodular densities. Again, her mammogram was misread and again her cancer was not found.

When the woman was finally diagnosed at a future date, the patient had stage 4 breast cancer that had metastasized. The main tumor was in the same area where the previous mammogram had been read as exhibiting a dilated duct. The woman initiated a malpractice claim against both physicians and hospitals.

The physician and hospital that interpreted the third mammogram as showing small nodular densities reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum in an amount less that the $2.0 million available in insurance coverage. The doctor and hospital that incorrectly interpreted the previous mammogram declined to settle for the full amount of the policy. They were willing to pay only a mere $125,000. The case proceeded to trial where evidence was offered that had the mammogram not been incorrectly interpreted the cancer could have been detected while still a Stage 1 cancer, which generally has a 5 year survival rate well above ninety percent. The law firm that represented the woman reported that the jury came back with a verdict of $12.0 million.

This case illustrates a number of important points. First, 2 separate mammograms were incorrectly interpreted by 2 different doctors at two distinct hospitals. Also both physicians attributed results to prior mammograms which were not in those earlier mammograms. It is hard to figure out how this could have occurred unless the physicians each looked at a different patient's mammogram as the comparison. Yet the odds of this happening twice at 2 hospitals is highly improbable. But the level of carelessness that would be needed otherwise is truly unexcusable. In this case, the jury appears to have agreed.

by: Joseph Hernandez

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