Failure To Timely Diagnose Gastric Cancer

Verdict Amount: $1,135,000.00
Verdict Date: 09/2008
Attorney: Howard D. Mishkind

Description of Case: Plaintiff, age 55, was admitted to a local hospital by his primary care physician (PCP) for treatment of pneumonia. During the hospitalization, a CT scan with contrast showed evidence of pneumonia and emphysema and an incidental finding of thickening of the medial aspect of the gastric wall. The radiologist recommended further GI work-up when the patient was stable.

Defendant Dr. PCP failed to follow-up on the recommendations of the radiologist and claimed that he never saw the report of the radiologist and was unaware of the incidental finding of thickening of the gastric wall. Nine months later, Plaintiff died of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the stomach with metastasis to the liver, adrenal glands and lungs.

At the time that the CT scan was performed, Plaintiff’s gastric cancer was localized to the stomach wall and was most likely a stage I confined to the muscularis propria or subserosa (either a T2a or T2b).

The Defendant claimed that the Plaintiff’s cancer had already metastasized at the time and was most likely a stage III or IV. Defendant further denied responsibility for the incidental finding on the CT scan.

Court: Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court

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