$1 Million

Settlement for Medical Malpractice - Failure to Diagnose Cancer

The Case: This recovery was obtained for the children and widow of a 64-year-old man whose doctor failed to tell him that his chest CT radiology report revealed a late Stage 1 cancerous tumor. The doctor never read or followed up on the patient's radiology report when his office received it. The doctor saw the patient several times over the course of the next year but never informed him of the cancer. One year from the date of the first scan, the physician ordered a second CT scan, which revealed the lung cancer had spread to the patient's liver and progressed to an incurable Stage 4. When the physician reviewed the results of the second CT radiology report, rather than telling the patient he had cancer, or that he had missed the original diagnosis, he left the office and did not return. The patient did not know he had cancer until 6 weeks later when he was hospitalized due to weakness. Tragically, he died two months later. Had the patient been informed by his physician as he should have, he would have faced an approximately 60% survival rate.

The Outcome: This was a substantial recovery, considering there were nominal economic damages and non-economic damages, which are limited by caps imposed by the 2005 SC Medical Malpractice Act.