On October 30, 2024, a Massachusetts medical malpractice lawsuit against a nurse practitioner who allegedly negligently delayed the diagnosis of endometrial cancer in a 55-year-old patient was resolved during meditation after the woman’s primary care physician had been deposed. The amount of the settlement was reported to be $1.25 million.
The woman had reported to her certified nurse practitioner during an annual gynecological exam on December 2, 2017 that she was having erratic periods and irregular spotting. The nurse practitioner ordered an ultrasound to rule out serious issues such as cancer, which was performed on April 27, 2018. The ultrasound report indicated a heterogenous endometrium, thickness of 10.2 mm, and the radiologist recommended a follow-up ultrasound to reassess the endometrium immediately following the next menses, unless a hysteroscopy or other investigation of the endometrial cavity was performed. The woman was never provided with a copy of the ultrasound report, and she was not told about the radiologist’s recommendations.
She continued to see the nurse practitioner for her annual gynecological exams for the next three years during which the nurse practitioner did not document any further order with respect to a follow-up pelvic ultrasound or evaluation involving biopsy.
When the woman next saw the nurse practitioner on August 7, 2021, she reported that she was having randomly occurring light spotting. The nurse practitioner ordered a pelvic ultrasound that showed that the endometrial thickness had grown from 10.2 mm to 1.4 cm. The nurse practitioner left the practice shortly afterwards and the woman was then seen by her primary care physician, on September 21, 2021. The primary care physician reviewed the results of the ultrasound and immediately referred the woman for an endometrial biopsy, which showed endometrial cancer.
The woman’s cancer was diagnosed as Stage 3c and she underwent a total laparoscopic hysterectomy. She required both chemotherapy and radiation. It was reported that the woman’s experts were prepared to testify during trial that any post-menopausal vaginal bleeding, including spotting or staining, is abnormal, and requires diagnostic evaluation to determine the cause and confirm or rule out malignancy.
The woman’s experts were reportedly prepared to testify that once the woman had a pelvic ultrasound that showed endometrial thickening, the standard of care required obtaining endometrial sampling. Once pre-cancerous hyperplasia or early-stage endometrial cancer is identified, it is curable: stage 3 endometrial cancer averages a 58 percent chance of five-year survival. The woman has remained cancer-free for more than three years.
If you or a loved one may have been injured (or worse) as a result of nurse practitioner medical malpractice in Massachusetts or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a Massachusetts medical malpractice attorney, or a medical malpractice attorney in your state, who may investigate your nurse practitioner medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a nurse practitioner malpractice case, if appropriate.
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