Delay in Diagnosis of Cancer Lawsuits: Recent Trial Reports

Cancer Diagnostic Errors Lead to Medical Malpractice Claims

As mentioned in our recent Patient Safety Blog post, cancer diagnosis delays are unfortunately too common in our healthcare system. Lubin & Meyer's attorneys have tried many cases of cancer diagnostic errors over the years. We archive many of the trial reports of our verdicts and settlements that provide a wealth of details of such cases.

On our main website, you can search our Verdicts and Settlements Archive by type of medical injury, or view a listing of our medical malpractice cases involving cancer. (Please note, this is not a complete listing.)

Last month we added three new trial reports to our website — all cancer diagnosis related. They are:

$6.8 Million Judgment: Kidney Cancer Diagnosis Delay
This lawsuit claimed that a urine sample showing blood in the urine required referral to a urologist, which would have resulted in a proper workup that would have diagnosed the decedent’s cancer at an earlier stage.

$1.5 Million Settlement: Delay in Diagnosis of Lung Cancer
Medical malpractice action claims PCP’s failure to address cough and order chest x-ray leads to delay in lung cancer diagnosis.

$2.5 Million Settlement: Failure to Diagnose Cancer in Appendix
This lawsuit claims the pathologist who evaluated appendix after removal was negligent in failing to identify the cancer and note it in her report.

Was your cancer misdiagnosed?

If you have questions about a possible medical malpractice lawsuit related to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, please do not hesitate to call our cancer lawyers. We represent patients in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

We offer a free case review of your experience to determine if you received inappropriate care that caused you permanent harm. There is no cost to evaluate your potential claim.

For more information on how medical malpractice is determined in cancer cases, visit our cancer diagnosis delay information page.


Lubin & Meyer PC - New Hampshire's Leader in Medical Malpractice Law

$8.5 Million Jury Award in New Hampshire Makes Headlines

The following is a compilation of some of the reporting on the lawsuit filed by Lubin & Meyer on behalf of the Meredith, NH family of a bicyclist who was killed by a tractor trailer. The jury awarded the family $8.5 million in compensation. It is believed to be the largest verdict in NH in 2011. (This post is a follow up to the previous news item.)

• The Concord Monitor - Meredith: Trucking firm liable in death
• The Citizen of Laconia - Jury awards $8.5 million in negligent death case
• The Boston Herald - New Hampshire woman, children win $8.5M in lawsuit
• The Portland Press Herald - NH woman, children win $8.5M in lawsuit over Maine death
• The Trucker.com - New Hampshire woman wins $8.5M in trucking co. lawsuit

The full court order/opinion is available on Justia.com:
LaCaillade et al v. Loignon Champ-Carr, Inc.

Lubin & Meyer PC - New Hampshire's Leader in Medical Malpractice Law

Alarm Fatigue Lawsuit Settles in Massachusetts, Hospitals Nationwide Respond

Hospitals nationwide have been addressing "alarm fatigue" — a condition where hospital staff become "immune" to the sounds of multiple alarms going off due to the high number of alarms, most of them 'false alarms.' In some cases, hospital staff have disabled the alarms.

The case at the forefront of the alarm fatigue issue, involved the death of an 89-year-old cardiac patient, whose family was represented by Attorney Andrew C. Meyer, Jr. of Lubin & Meyer. The settlement, which was obtained in May of this year, was made public this week by the family of the man who died at Massachusetts General Hospital when nurses did not respond to alarms on his cardiac monitor.

According to a Boston Globe article, "Investigators concluded that alarm fatigue experienced by nurses working among constantly beeping monitors contributed to their inattention. Additionally, the volume for a separate audible crisis alarm on his bedside monitor had been turned off."

The death of this patient, and a series of investigative articles by The Boston Globe have raised awareness of alarm fatigue and prompted hospitals nationwide to examine the problem of alarm fatigue more closely. As reported by the Globe, both the Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals, and the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates monitor manufacturers, participated in an alarm summit last month and plan to further address the issue.

The first article appeared February 15, 2011 titled, Patient Alarms Often Unheard, Unheeded.

For the full article related to the settlement, click on: Alarm fatigue settlement.

Lubin & Meyer PC - New Hampshire's Leader in Medical Malpractice Law

Lubin & Meyer Representing Plaintiff in Lakes Region General Hospital Lawsuit

Lubin & Meyer is representing the plaintiff in a medical malpractice action against physicians at Lakes Region General Hospital, Laconia, NH. The lawsuit contends that a patient at the hospital died of bowel necrosis due to a delay in diagnosis and substandard care. The Citizen of Laconia featured the story as the two sides agreed to try mediation to resolve the lawsuit. If the case is not resolved at mediation, the trial is schedule to start April 1, 2013.

Lubin & Meyer PC - New Hampshire's Leader in Medical Malpractice Law

Medication Error Lawsuit Against Mass General Garners Press Attention

Andrew C. Meyer, Jr. medical malpractice plaintiffs attorney has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Massachusetts General Hospital and several of its doctors and nurses on behalf of the family of a 76-year-old woman who died following a medication error while she was an inpatient being treated for a minor infection after breaking her shoulder.

A Boston Globe article that carried the story on March 10, 2011 (MGH faces suit over drug error that killed woman), notes that "prescription dose errors have long been the single leading cause of fatal medication mistakes." The article states:

According to a report the hospital provided to the family, “the day nurse understood the intended dosing but made an error when entering the dose into the IV pump.’’

The report added, “This excessive medication dose was preventable and a result of a failure of systems within the hospital’s control.’’

WCVBTV Channel 5, quoted Attorney Meyer saying,

"This was a systemic failure within the hospital, within the nursing practices of the hospital and with the doctor's oversight responsibility — clear negligence on behalf of the hospital and the doctors and nurses involved."

The hospital has admitted it made mistakes and has apologized and plans to institute changes. In the Globe article, Meyer indicated he was hopeful the hospital would make changes but had no knowledge if that had happened. Said Meyer,

“As the claim proceeds, one of our goals will be to ensure that [the hospital's proposed system] changes for the protection of patients are enacted and adhered to.’’

To read more about this case, please see the Boston Globe article and the coverage of the lawsuit on TheBostonChannel.com.

Lubin & Meyer PC - New Hampshire's Leader in Medical Malpractice Law

New Hampshire Couple Files Lawsuit Against McLean Hospital

A New Hampshire couple is suing McLean Hospital claiming it was at fault for discharging a patient who then killed herself and the couple's two children — after having been stopped and detained for erratic driving and behavior earlier that same day — in a much publicized incident on a highway in Lowell, and according to a report in the Boston Globe, "allegedly failing to properly treat the woman’s mental illness." An excerpt from the Globe article:

The [plaintiffs] told the Globe after the deaths that McLean psychiatrists had diagnosed [the patient] with bipolar disorder ... and discharged her six days later after prescribing psychotropic drugs and recommending outpatient therapy. But, the couple said, doctors never told family members about the risk [the patient] might pose to others or herself.

The article also quotes the family's attorney, Andrew C. Meyer, Jr. of Lubin & Meyer: “Had they been warned of this potential, they never would have allowed the children to be in her care that night.’’

Read the full article here: Lawsuit faults McLean in death of 2 innocents.

Lubin & Meyer PC - New Hampshire's Leader in Medical Malpractice Law