John Mohar filed a Georgia medical malpractice lawsuit against Dr. Jorge P. Leguizamo and his employer, Georgia Cancer Specialists I, P.C., alleging that the Defendants were negligent in failing to discontinue Mohar’s steroid prescription, resulting in symptoms related to long-term steroid use. Dr. Leguizamo last treated Mohar on September 24, 2020. At that visit, Dr. Leguizamo noted that from an oncological perspective, Mohar’s underlying brain condition was stable and had been since June 2017. Nevertheless, Dr. Leguizamo continued Mohar’s steroid prescription. On October 14, 2020, Mohar filled a steroid prescription previously written by Dr. Leguizamo.
On October 15, 2020, neuro-oncologist Alfredo Voloschin initiated a steroid taper that eventually was successful and advised Mohar that Dr. Leguizamo had kept him on steroids for too long. Mohar testified that he took his last dose of steroids in November 2020.
Between November 2020 and August 2021, Mohar experienced or was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism; avascularnecrosis of his shoulders, ankles, and hips; osteoporosis, osteopenia, and osteoarthritis; hyperlipidemia and elevated liver enzymes; Cushing’s syndrome; deep vein thrombosis; and fatigue — all symptoms and complications of long-term steroid use.
The trial court found that, at the latest, the statute of limitation applicable to Mohar’s action began to run on September 21, 2020, when Mohar was diagnosed with epidural lipomatosis. The trial court ruled that, because Mohar did not file his Georgia medical malpractice complaint until September 26, 2022, the action was not filed within two years of his injury as required by OCGA § 9-3-71 (a). Thus, the trial court granted the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, ruling that Mohar’s claim was time-barred. Mohar appealed.
The Court of Appeals of Georgia stated in its Octiober 22, 2024 opinion: “the true test to determine when the cause of action accrued is to ascertain the time when the plaintiff could first have maintained his action to a successful result … Here, the date on which Mohar’s symptoms of chronic steroid use first became apparent was February 8, 2018, when Mohar presented to Georgia Cancer Specialists with complaints of abdominal stretch marks and weight gain, which Yadav attributed to steroids. Mohar’s medical expert concurred that these symptoms were attributable to chronic steroid use. Accordingly, Mohar’s cause of action for negligent misdiagnosis arose February 8, 2018, when he first manifested symptoms of chronic steroid use, and the Defendants allegedly failed to correctly diagnose and treat this
condition by discontinuing Mohar’s steroid prescription.”
The Georgia appellate court held: “That Mohar failed to realize the cause of these symptoms on February 8, 2018, does not alter this result, nor does the fact that these symptoms subsequently worsened and resulted in more serious conditions because those conditions were also directly related to Mohar’s chronic steroid use. The two-year statute of limitation began to run on Mohar’s medical malpractice action from the date of the first symptoms of his injury on February 8, 2018, and therefore, the statute ran prior to the date on which he filed his complaint, September 26, 2022. Thus, the trial court properly granted the Defendants’motion for summary judgment as to Mohar’s claim of negligent misdiagnosis.”
Source Mohar v. Leguizamo, A24A1135.
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