The defendant claimed that the decedent had no signs of pyelonephritis, sepsis, or a renal abscess at his last office visit.
According to a published report, a defense verdict was returned.
Breast Cancer Resolved Before Mastectomy
The patient, age 31, underwent an excisional biopsy in January on her left breast. The procedure was performed by a general surgeon, Dr. B., who made a diagnosis of cancer in March. Chemotherapy was initiated.
In July, the patient was evaluated by a second general surgeon, Dr. K., who recommended a mastectomy; the surgery was performed in October. Pathology studies from the surgery revealed no evidence of cancer of the breast, nor of the 28 lymph nodes that were removed. Dr. K. ordered further tests, but they failed to provide any evidence that the patient’s breast tissue was cancerous.
The plaintiff claimed that Dr. B. failed to perform the initial biopsy properly, that the biopsy did not clearly indicate the margins of cancerous tissue, and that Dr. B. should have performed a second excision. The plaintiff also claimed that Dr. K. performed an unnecessary mastectomy and failed to obtain informed consent for this surgery. The plaintiff claimed that her cancer was eradicated by chemotherapy, leaving no palpable mass before the surgery, and thus making the mastectomy unnecessary. The plaintiff maintained that Dr. K. should have suggested a lumpectomy or a sentinel node biopsy.
The defendants claimed that the plaintiff did not attend all of her scheduled presurgical evaluations, making her responsible for their failure to properly diagnose her condition.
The jury returned a verdict for $6.5 million against Dr. K. alone.