$8.5M Malpractice Verdict Affirmed On Appeal: In its decision dated May 31, 2023, the Court of Appeals of Georgia affirmed a Georgia medical malpractice wrongful death jury verdict in the amount of $8,520,182.60 for the death of a woman who had an abdominal mass that she was not advised about that later ruptured and turned out to be cancerous.
The Underlying Facts
Debbie Sain became pregnant in early 2012, when she was 36 years old. Ultrasounds performed by two different Preferred Women’s Healthcare (“PWH”) sonographers on April 3, 10, and 20, 2012 revealed a mass in Debbie’s right adnexa. On April 3, the mass measured between 5.7 and 6.27 centimeters, and it appeared to be unchanged on April 10 and 20. The sonographers documented their findings in Debbie’s medical records to draw the mass to the attention of her PWH doctors.
Two expert witnesses testified at trial that the mass’s appearance in April 2012 was consistent with a dermoid, which typically will not resolve on its own, and one of Debbie’s sonographers similarly thought that the mass was a dermoid. However, following the first ultrasound, the PWH obstetrician-gynecologist who met with Debbie shared no concerns about the results. In fact, Debbie was not told about the mass during any of her PWH visits, and her medical records contain no indication that her doctors took any action related to the mass during her pregnancy. Moreover, while Debbie’s obstetrical chart included a “problem list,” the mass was not included on it. Similarly, in Debbie’s antepartum record, her adnexa was noted to be normal, and the mass was not documented in the space provided for ultrasound notes.
On January 3, 2013, Debbie visited an emergency room, complaining of abdominal pain and a fever. When a CT scan showed a mass in her abdomen, she underwent emergency surgery performed by Dr. Dickerson. During the surgery, the mass— which measured 11 centimeters and had ruptured—was removed. Because the mass already had excreted 500 milliliters of dermoid contents into Debbie’s pelvis, it likely measured between 12 and 15 centimeters before it ruptured. The mass was found to contain squamous cell carcinoma arising from a mature teratoma. Debbie’s ensuing cancer treatment included several surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, and long stays in the hospital. The treatments ultimately were unsuccessful, and she died in December 2013.
One of the issues on appeal was the plaintiff’s expert, Dr. DeSimone’s, causation testimony. The defendants argued that Dr. DeSimone improperly extrapolated the survivability of Debbie’s cancer from the survival rates for “general epithelial cancer.” The defendants further argued that Dr. DeSimone’s opinion was not grounded in relevant studies and literature and that his limited clinical experience with ovarian squamous cell carcinoma was insufficient to support his opinion.
The Court of Appeals of Georgia held: “The trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting Dr. DeSimone’s opinions, which were but one link in a chain of evidence supporting Jason’s theory of causation. Both the relevance and reliability of Dr. DeSimone’s opinions as to causation were supported by (and consistent with) multiple medical journal articles addressing ovarian squamous cell carcinoma (submitted with Jason’s motion for reconsideration), which identified the 5-year survival rate for stage 1 patients as ranging from 75.7 to 95 percent. And at trial, the testimony of Drs. Quirk, McBroom, and Grisham provided additional support for both the relevance and reliability of the bases for Dr. DeSimone’s opinions as to causation, as each witness testified that Debbie’s prognosis worsened as a result of the failure to treat her adnexal mass earlier. It therefore was within the trial court’s discretion to determine that (i) the significant corroboration of Dr. DeSimone’s opinions from other sources was sufficient to overcome the concerns raised by the appellants as to Dr. DeSimone’s use of extrapolation and the limits of his clinical experience and reliance on relevant literature; and (ii) “any alleged deficiencies in the bases for his opinion[s] would go to both the credibility of [Dr. DeSimone’s] testimony and any weight a jury might wish to assign to it” … We therefore affirm the denial of the appellants’ motion to exclude his testimony.”
Preferred Women’s Healthcare, LLC v. Sain, A23A0413.
If you or a loved one may have been injured (or worse) as a result of medical malpractice in Georgia or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a Georgia medical malpractice lawyer, or a medical malpractice lawyer in your state, who may investigate your medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
Click here to visit our website or call us toll-free in the United States at 800-295-3959 to find medical malpractice attorneys in your state who may assist you.
Turn to us when you don’t know where to turn.