May 31, 2011 – New York medical malpractice lawyers from Levy Konigsberg LLP obtain a $3 Million settlement on behalf of a 57-year-old woman whose breast cancer was misdiagnosed allowing the cancer to spread to her bones and brain and nearly taking away her life.
NEW YORK MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAWYERS FROM LEVY KONIGSBERG LLP OBTAIN A $3 MILLION SETTLEMENT ON BEHALF OF A 57-YEAR-OLD WOMAN WHOSE BREAST CANCER WAS MISDIAGNOSED ALLOWING THE CANCER TO SPREAD TO HER BONES AND BRAIN AND NEARLY TAKING AWAY HER LIFE.
NEW YORK, New York, May 31, 2011 – New York medical malpractice lawyers at the medical negligence law firm of Levy Konigsberg LLP obtained a $3 Million settlement prior to jury selection in a medical malpractice lawsuit involving a 57-year-old woman1 who sued a New York hospital, primary care physician, and radiologist who failed to timely diagnose her breast cancer.
The patient, a divorced mother of two grown sons, who had been on disability for a prior back condition, detected a lump in her left breast upon self-breast examination in August 2006. She advised her primary care physician of the lump, who noted “left breast mass” in his chart. The primary care physician sent the patient for a diagnostic mammogram and sonogram of the left breast, which was performed on August 30, 2006. The radiologist failed to note the presence of an abnormality on the mammogram or sonogram. Upon return to the primary care physician, the patient was told that the mammogram and sonogram were “negative” and that she should follow up with her normally scheduled mammogram the following year. She was not referred to a surgeon or sent for a biopsy.
The lump in the patient’s breast persisted, and, in November 2007, she noticed a new lump under her left arm. She returned to her primary care physician, who immediately referred her to a surgeon, who diagnosed her with stage IV breast cancer, which had now metastasized to her left axillary lymph nodes and lungs. The cancer subsequently spread to her bones and brain. At the time of the settlement, her prognosis was grave.
Plaintiff’s expert radiologist was expected to testify that the defendant radiologist failed to see and report radiological signs of breast cancer on the August 2006, mammogram and breast sonogram. Plaintiff’s internal medicine expert was expected to testify that the defendant's primary care doctor was negligent in failing to refer the patient to a surgeon or for a biopsy in August 2006, and that, even in the presence of a reportedly normal mammogram and sonogram, a patient with a palpable abnormality in the breast must be referred to a surgeon or for a biopsy. Plaintiff’s treating oncologist was expected to testify that as a result of the failure to diagnose the breast cancer in August 2006, the patient’s cancer was permitted to grow and metastasize and that her chances of treatment and cure were greatly reduced by the delay in diagnosis and treatment. The expert was expected to testify that the cancer was, more likely than not, at stage one in August 2006.
Defendants’ experts would have testified that defendants were not negligent and that the delay in diagnosis did not make an appreciable difference in the treatment and prognosis due to the aggressive nature of the cancer.
As a result of the delayed diagnosis, the patient underwent surgical biopsy, systemic chemotherapy, and radiation to her bones and brain, and her prognosis was least optimistic at the time of the settlement.
After extensive pre-trial negotiations, a settlement of $3,000,000 was obtained shortly before jury selection.
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1 Names of parties withheld due to confidentiality agreement.
