On August 30, 2024, an Indiana medical malpractice jury returned its verdict in the amount of $50,000 for a woman whose breast cancer was allegedly not timely diagnosed by one of the defendant radiologists. The jury found in favor of the other defendant radiologist, and the jury did not award any damages for the husband’s loss of consortium claim.
The woman’s Indiana medical malpractice lawsuit alleged that she was 42-years-old when she had her annual mammogram on August 24, 2018. The radiologist who read her mammogram reported no signs of cancer. Then, on July 26, 2019, the woman returned for her next annual mammogram that was also reported as showing no signs of malignancy. Both radiologists were employed by the same radiology group.
On October 15, 2019, the woman complained to her gynecologist that she had found a lump in her left breast. The gynecologist was able to palpate the lump and referred the woman to a hematologist/oncologist for diagnosis and further care. On October 30, 2019, the oncologist advised the woman that she had invasive ductal carcinoma in her left breast that had spread into her lymph nodes, which required chemotherapy treatments that began on November 13, 2019. The chemotherapy side effects led to the need for a double mastectomy that was performed on April 21, 2020, after which the woman underwent radiation treatments.
The woman initially filed a claim with the Indiana medical review panel, as required by Indiana medical malpractice law, which resulted in a mixed determination by the 3-member panel, but concluded with a unanimous decision that they could not determine if any alleged breach of the standard of care contributed to the harm allegedly suffered by the woman.
The defendants reportedly denied the woman’s medical malpractice claim against the radiologist who had read the August 24, 2018 mammogram but admitted to the medical negligence of the radiologist who read the July 26, 2019 mammogram, yet argued that such medical negligence did not cause harm to the woman. The woman’s oncology expert reportedly testified during trial that had the woman’s breast cancer been properly diagnosed a year earlier, her breast cancer likely would have been at Stage I, without spread to her lymph nodes, in which case she would not have required chemotherapy, a mastectomy, or radiation treatments.
Papacek v. Anderson, et al., Indiana Superior Court, Hamilton County, case number: 29D03-2212-CT-9807.
If you or a loved one were injured (or worse) as a result of the misdiagnosis of breast cancer in Indiana or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find an Indiana medical malpractice lawyer, or a medical malpractice lawyer in your state, who may investigate your breast cancer misdiagnosis medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a breast cancer malpractice case, if appropriate.
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