$24 Million Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis Verdict
A Shelby County, Tennessee jury awarded a $24 million verdict yesterday, one of the largest medical malpractice verdicts in Tennessee history, for a doctor's failure to diagnose Stage I breast cancer.
According to the medical malpractice lawsuit filed by Plaintiff's medical malpractice lawyers, the Plaintiff was just 23 when she went to her Memphis OB-GYN. Her doctor told her simply not to worry about it. The Plaintiff noticed the lump was larger and more painful 18 months later and was immediately diagnosed with cancer after a mammogram and biopsy.
Certainly, it is incredibly unlikely that a 23 year-old with a lump on her breast has breast cancer. But, as this Tennessee jury found, the OB-GYN should have done something to find out what the etiology of the lump was because, as unlikely as it is for a 23 year-old to have breast cancer, it is entirely possible. Pretty much anything would be better than telling the patient not to worry about it with no follow-up.
- Sampling of Cancer Misdiagnosis Verdicts (case summaries and verdicts)
- Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis (generally)
- Malpractice Lawyer Blog (blog directed to medical malpractice lawyers
