Advanced Radiology Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Advanced Radiology is the biggest medical imaging provider in Maryland. It provides X-rays, MRI, MRA, digital mammography, ultrasound, bone density tests, PET, CT/CTA, PET/CT, and nuclear medicine tests. At last count, Advanced Radiology has 32 independent locations, with six of its locations located within a hospital. They have the cache of providing radiological services for the Baltimore Ravens. Advanced Radiology was born small. In 1995, radiology providers merged, and later, two smaller shops joined Advanced to form the mega-radiology provider that exists today.

Because we are talking about medical malpractice claims against Advanced Radiology, you are probably expecting a diatribe about how they are a poor health care provider who frequently commits malpractice. However, that is not our contention.

Our lawyers think Advanced Radiology generally does a competent job of treating its patients, taking the images patients need, and properly interpreting them. Advanced Radiology is also pretty reasonable, by giving car accident victims a chance to wait for their personal injury settlements before advancing collection efforts.

But like any large-scale health care provider, Advanced Radiology makes mistakes, gets sued, and pays out settlements and jury verdicts to malpractice victims. Radiologists can make errors of perception, knowledge, and judgment, and any one of these mistakes can be medical malpractice.

• Get radiologist malpractice verdicts
• Learn more about the settlement value of malpractice claims

Common Radiology Mistakes at Places Like Advanced Radiology

Most radiology malpractice cases are not about a single bad read. They are about a chain of small, ordinary breakdowns that line up.

Three Big Mistakes

Inside imaging groups like Advanced Radiology, the misses our malpractice lawyers see most often start with workload and workflow. Subtle cancers or vascular findings can be overlooked during high RVU shifts or overnight teleradiology, especially when the reader relies on a prior report that describes them as benign.

The second weak link is comparison. Many patients already have older scans on file, but no one pulls them up. When the old images are not checked, doctors can miss that a small spot has grown over time.

The third weak link is indecision. A report may indicate a potential problem, but it does not specify precisely what to do or when. Without a clear plan and a date, the follow-up does not get ordered.

Communication

Communication is where cases become indefensible. A critical result is read correctly, but no documented call, read back, or confirmation appears in the chart.

Routine faxes to a clinic that is closed at 5:00 are treated as notification. Addenda that upgrade a finding are entered, but no one confirms that the treating team actually saw them. When you depose the clinicians later, they say they never knew. The record is quiet, and if it is not documented, it is treated as not done.

Other Malpractice

Protocol choices create another set of misses. Non-contrast imaging when contrast was indicated, incorrect phase timing on CT, or the incorrect MRI sequence will render a diagnosis impossible. Busy front desks may protocol by default to keep scanners moving. Technologists know a study is non-diagnostic because of motion or bad timing, but the exam gets read anyway to avoid recalls. That read-through of a non-diagnostic study is a frequent pivot point in litigation.

Interventional cases turn on preparation and aftercare. Consent forms that do not list the specific risks of the actual procedure, light sedation without full monitoring, thin post-procedure orders, and no clear escalation plan after hours all show up in the bad outcomes. When a complication appears later, the gaps in consent, vitals, and rescue steps matter as much as the needle placement.

What proves these cases is not rhetoric. It is timestamps, audit trails, and policies. PACS logs show whether priors were opened. RIS shows turnaround times against the site policy. Phone logs and read-back fields show whether a critical finding was actually communicated. Society guidelines and ACR criteria show the standard for follow-up that should have been recommended. Most jurors focus on two questions. Was there a missed chance to catch it earlier? Was there a missed chance to act sooner? If the paper record shows that either chance was available and was not taken, liability follows.

Advanced Radiology Lawsuits and Venue

Advanced Radiology has roughly 17 freestanding centers in Baltimore County and none in Baltimore City. Its radiologists, however, also read studies inside two Baltimore City hospitals. Why does that matter? Because venue matters. In the past, Advanced Radiology emphasized limited City contacts to push lawsuits into surrounding counties where juries are often more defense friendly. Those arguments are harder to make now given the work performed in City hospitals and the company’s broader footprint.

Does that mean your case belongs in Baltimore City? Maybe. Venue turns on where the study was performed or interpreted, where Advanced Radiology regularly does business, whether a hospital co-defendant sits in the City, and where follow-up care and harm occurred. We evaluate every lawful venue at the start because venue can change how insurers value a claim.

Where are these centers most often?

• Baltimore County: Towson, Lutherville–Timonium, Owings Mills, Pikesville, Reisterstown, Perry Hall/White Marsh, Cockeysville

• Harford County: Bel Air, Abingdon

• Howard County: Columbia, Ellicott City

• Anne Arundel County: Glen Burnie, Arundel Mills

• Carroll County: Westminster

How to Get Your Advanced Radiology Images and Report

If you think a radiology error harmed you, get the records first. If you already have a malpractice lawyer, the law firm will likely be more than willing to get the records for you.  But if you want to get them yourself, here is exactly what to request:

• Your final radiology report

• The actual images in DICOM format (on a CD or secure download)

• Any prior comparison studies and addenda

• Proof of critical-result communications (who was called and when)

HIPAA Request Template

Just say this in your letter:

“Please provide my complete radiology file for studies performed on [dates] at Advanced Radiology, including the final signed report, all images in DICOM format, prior comparison studies, any addenda, and documentation of critical-result communications. I request electronic delivery if available. Attached is my photo ID. Signed, [name, DOB, phone, email].”

Advanced Radiology Verdicts and Settlements

Below are recent verdicts and publicly reported settlements from medical malpractice cases in which Advanced Radiology was a defendant:

• Ward v. Advanced Radiology (Maryland 2022) $2,400,000: A 40-year-old woman was diagnosed with breast cancer after a tumor was detected in her right breast. She received chemotherapy followed by a nipple sparing double mastectomy at GBMC. However, after the surgery, the defendants failed to recognize that the tumor had not been completely removed from the right breast. As a result, there was a delay in her cancer treatment, which decreased her chance of survival. The woman required additional treatment, including five weeks of radiation therapy, which caused skin loss, burning, scarring, and the formation of contractures.
• Burton v Advanced Radiology (Maryland 2019) $2,582,529: Female patient in her mid-50s has an annual mammogram done at Advanced Radiology.  The staff radiologist at Advanced Radiology interprets the mammogram as normal. She had another mammogram 16 months later, which identified a large tumor. She is diagnosed with advanced-stage, triple-negative breast cancer. Despite extensive treatment, she died two years later. Her estate brings a wrongful death case against Advanced Radiology, claiming that the original mammogram was misinterpreted, causing a delay in the diagnosis of her breast cancer. A jury in Baltimore County awards $2.5 million.
• Rabkin v Varma (New Jersey 2019) $2.3 million: Advanced Radiology was one of several defendants in this failure-to-diagnose case. Decedent came to the emergency room with severe abdominal pain and other symptoms. The emergency room doctor ordered a chest CT angiogram to rule out aortic dissection. The chest CT was performed and interpreted by a radiologist from Advanced Radiology. Although the radiologist later claimed that he identified signs of an aortic aneurysm on the CT report, this was apparently never communicated to the emergency room doctor. As a result, the decedent was put on observation status overnight. The following morning, another CT test finally revealed the problem, and the decedent was immediately transferred to another hospital for emergency surgery, but then it was too late, and he died. Advanced Radiology was allegedly negligent in failing to timely communicate the CT findings and ensure proper treatment. The case settled before trial for $2.3 million, with Advanced Radiology contributing $750,000.
• Palmer v Souweine (Maryland 2018) $461,862 Verdict: Decedent, 79-year-old male with history of smoking, underwent a CT scan of his chest interpreted as normal by defendant Advanced Radiology. Two years later, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and eventually died. His estate sued the radiologist and other doctors, alleging that they negligently misinterpreted the results of the CT scan, causing a 2-year delay in diagnosis. After a 9-day trial in Baltimore County, the jury awarded $435k in damages.
• Ragan v. Advanced Radiology (Maryland 2017) $465,000: wrongful death action was brought when an adult male patient, reportedly died from clear cell renal cell carcinoma, after it had metastasized to his lungs and bone while he was under the care of defendant Advanced Radiology. Suit alleged that defendant and its employees departed from acceptable medical standards by failing to properly read, interpret and report the findings of chest, abdomen, and pelvis CT scans and failing to report two masses on the decedent’s kidney which resulted in delayed diagnosis and treatment. The case went to trial in Baltimore County, and the jury awarded $465,000.
• Banas v Advanced Radiology (Illinois 2014) $1.1 million: Plaintiff, 43-year-old male police officer, reportedly suffered an injury to the ulnar nerve in his right elbow, resulting in nerve and muscle ischemia and atrophy, as a result of an embolization procedure performed by defendant Advanced Radiology. Plaintiff claimed that defendant negligently injected an embolizing agent when he knew or should have known it would enter nutritive arteries and then failed to properly diagnose the complications that followed. Advanced Radiology denied wrongdoing and took the case to trial where a jury awarded $1.1 million in damages.
• Lenz v St Agnes (Maryland 2007) $7 million: Advanced Radiology was the primary defendant in this breast cancer misdiagnosis case. Plaintiff’s OB/GYN found a lump in her breast during an annual exam in 2002. He sent her to Advanced Radiology for a mammogram, but it came back negative for signs of cancer, and no additional follow-up was done. A year later at her next annual exam, the OB/GYN found the lump had grown significantly. This time, an ultrasound and biopsy led to a diagnosis of breast cancer, which had spread to her lymph nodes. Plaintiff sued, alleging that defendants failed to properly diagnose and treat her breast cancer, shortening her expected lifespan. Plaintiff settled her claims with everyone except Advanced Radiology, which took the case to trial and lost. The jury in Baltimore City awarded $7 million, although the judge later reduced the award.

Do You Have a Lawsuit?

Diagnostic radiology malpractice claims typically revolve around the patient’s medical records and films generated for the patient. If a review of these records leads to the suspicion that a medical mistake has been made, the next step is to find an expert to testify for you that the radiologist deviated from the applicable standard of care required of a prudent radiologist and that the deviation is a cause of harm that was done.

Getting Help from a Lawyer

If you believe you may have a claim against a radiologist for medical malpractice, call us at 800-553-8082 for a free case strategy session or get a free online case review.