Cancer Misdiagnosis Verdicts in Maryland

       Verdicts obtained in medical malpractice lawsuits for failure to diagnose cancer are invariably misleading because every cancer misdiagnosis case is different.  Most delayed cancer diagnosis cases do not warrant a medical malpractice case.  But, clearly, some do.  The purpose of listing these verdicts below is to give Maryland cancer misdiagnosis lawyers a chance to take a look at the type of cases in which juries have found error in the failure to diagnose or treat cancer. 

       If you are one of the victims or a family member of a victim who has come across this cancer verdicts page, you may be doing Internet research trying to decide whether you should have a medical malpractice lawyer review your case.  This is a deeply personal decision for which we can give you no advice.   Everyone has to make the call for themselves as to whether a malpractice lawsuit is appropriate, including how egregious the doctor’s malpractice was in the case, how the doctor treated the patient and the family, and the willingness to relive the suffering through the lawsuit process.  The “take home message” here is that it is okay to not bring a meritorious malpractice lawsuit because you have a good reason – even if it is a personal reason that has nothing to do with the merits of case - you don’t want to file a lawsuit.  It is also okay if you do want to have your potential malpractice lawsuit investigated by a Maryland malpractice lawyer.
       Here are a few cancer misdiagnosis verdicts:

Venue: Montgomery County
Year: 2008
Type of Case:  Communication error between doctors that lead to the failure to remove an untreated mole
Verdict: $5.8 million.
Summary: 47-year-old attorney who died of cancer as a result of an untreated mole, which was cancerous, and spread to the man’s brain.  Patient had a mole on his back examined in 1998 by a dermatologist who suggested it be removed.  But the patient testified before his death that no one had ever told him.  His primary-care doctor and his dermatologist each believed the other had removed the mole.  This mole was examined by another doctor in 2004, but the patient’s doctor did not remove it until 2006.   Plaintiff’s expert testified that if the mole had been removed in 2004, Mr. Semsker would have “had a 95% chance of a complete cure.”
Due to a Maryland cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases, the award will be reduced to $3.6 million. The attorney representing the family of Richard Semsker said he was contemplating challenging the cap on the award.
Source: Maryland Daily Record and other sources
Venue: Baltimore City

Year: 2007

Type of Case: Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer

Verdict: $7,000,000: subject to Maryland cap on damages in medical malpractice cases.  (No offer was made to settle the case before the jury’s verdict.) 
Summary: Patient was a 52 year-old woman whose radiologist failed to order anything beyond a screening mammogram in spite of the fact that her prescription noted a left breast abnormality.  The technologist noticed the prescription was "internally inconsistent" and told the radiologist, who still ordered no further diagnostic tests.  As a result, plaintiff’s cancer progressed from a treatable stage “2B” to likely-to-recur stage"3B.” 
Source: Maryland Daily Record

Venue: Baltimore City

Year: 2006

Type of Case: Failure to Diagnose Malignant Tumor on Left Knee

Verdict: $ 11,003,000, including $ 3,000 for funeral expenses, subject to Maryland cap on damages in medical malpractice cases.

Summary: Patient was a 54 year-old woman died when a lump on her knee was misdiagnosed at University Hospital (University of Maryland Medical System Corp.)   Nature of the lump could have been diagnosed with a simple x-ray three years earlier. 

Source: Metro Verdicts Monthly

Venue: Baltimore City

Year:  2007

Type of Case: Abdominal Cancer

Verdict: $4,414,195, including $ 3,000,000 for non-economic damages, or $1,959,195 once the award was reduced consistent with the cap on non-economic damages (reversed by appellate court).

Summary: Failure to diagnose and treat cancer of the retroperitoneum (posterior portion of the abdominal cavity) by patient’s treating general practitioner. 

Source: Reported opinion in Brockington v. Grimstead, 176 Md. App. 327 (2007). 

If you believe you may have a breast cancer medical malpractice case, call our lawyers at 1-800-553-8082 or click here for a free online consultation.

Related Links:

Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis (discussion of breast cancer lawsuits)

Exercise Decreases the Risk of Breast Cancer (new study)
Breast Cancer Support (support group for victims of breast cancer)