The Case of Mrs. C -breast cancer delay

Our Case:*Mrs. C, a young woman in her late 40’s, found a lump in her right breast during self-examination.

Relying upon her doctor, Dr. A, an “expert” in breast surgery and diagnosis of breast cancer, she underwent examination and mammography. Dr. A informed Mrs. C that mammography and examination did not show a lump. He additionally recommended a biopsy (surgically extracting a swollen lymph node) to test it for cancer.

Months passed before the biopsy was finally scheduled during which time Mrs. C felt and reported swelling under her right armpit. Unknown to Mrs. C, Dr. A extracted a single lymph node for pathology. That node was reported as benign (non-cancerous). Despite continued pain and swelling no additional biopsies were performed by Dr. A.

A year passed with continued complaints of pain and swelling under her arm before additional testing was ordered. Mrs. C was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer which had metastasized (spread) from her right breast to her lymph nodes and neck. Dr. A never informed Mrs. C that he extracted the smallest of several lymph nodes in the original biopsy. In fact, Dr. A fraudulently concealed the size and description of the lymph node in his operative report.

Following failed medical treatment, consisting of 2 trials of chemotherapy, Mrs. C died, in pain, within 2 years of her late diagnosis.

Why the Defendant was Negligent: Inadequate testing and improper biopsy resulted in a medically significant delay in the diagnosis of breast cancer for Mrs. C. The standard of care required Dr. A to remove the largest lymph node present in order to rule out cancer in the remaining smaller lymph nodes.

The Verdict: The Lewis Law firm recovered a large monetary award for the family of Mrs. C.

*names have been changed for privacy