On December 10, 2025, a Georgia medical malpractice jury awarded $48 million for a man whose skin cancer was allegedly improperly treated by a dermatologist, resulting in the man losing most of an ear, salivary glands, and his teeth, along with suffering complications. The jury awarded $32 million for the man’s pain and suffering, and $16 million to his wife, for her loss of consortium claim. The man died from unrelated causes in 2022.
The plaintiffs alleged that the defendant dermatologist had removed what had been diagnosed as a cyst near the man’s ear in December 2013 in the same area where he had performed Moh’s surgery for skin cancer six months earlier, in June 2013. The dermatologist did not submit the mass for biopsy. Eight months after the Moh’s surgery, in February 2014, the man was diagnosed with skin cancer and underwent surgery.
The plaintiffs alleged in their Georgia medical malpractice lawsuit that the defendant dermatologist breached the standard of care in treating the man before the February 2014 skin cancer diagnosis and surgery, by failing to order a biopsy of the alleged cyst, which they alleged would have avoided much of the harm suffered during and after the February 2014 surgery. The plaintiffs further alleged that the Moh’s surgery slides were inconclusive, and that the dermatologist should have referred the man for possible radiation treatment to eradicate any deeper cancerous tissue that remained after the Moh’s procedure.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer told the jury, “You practice medicine to the standard of care to save patients; not be negligent and allow a horrible outcome and then throw your hands up and just say ‘Well bad outcomes can just happen.” That’s not responsible medicine. Tony deserved better.”
The defense attorney noted after the verdict that this was a retrial, and that the earlier trial two years prior resulted in a defense verdict: “We are disappointed and surprised at this latest nuclear verdict. It’s especially puzzling since we tried this same case two years ago and we won the case decisively, receiving a quick defense verdict. Very little changed from the last trial to this one—except the jury. For two separate juries to hear essentially the same evidence and return such disparate verdicts is just more evidence of how unpredictable and volatile our current civil jury system is. We believe there are multiple appellate issues to consider and we currently are analyzing them carefully.”
If you or a loved one suffered harm (or worse) due to the possible medical negligence of a dermatologist in Georgia or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a Georgia medical malpractice attorney, or a malpractice attorney in your state, who may investigate your dermatologist medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a dermatologist malpractice claim, if appropriate.
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