Avera & Smith Secures $1 Million Verdict in Columbia County Medical Malpractice Case
A Columbia County jury has returned a verdict of one million dollars for our client, who was the victim in a medical malpractice case involving a delayed diagnosis of lung cancer. After partner Mark Avera and his associate Zander Reilly presented a clear and compelling case to the jury, the outcome stood in sharp contrast to the position taken before trial. In fact, the insurance company covering the radiologist, MagMutual, had offered zero dollars to resolve the claim.
The case focused on the care of our client, who arrived at the emergency room on February 24, 2021, with medical complaints. As part of his evaluation, a chest X-ray was performed. That X-ray showed an abnormality in his right lung that, according to our client’s allegations and expert testimony at trial, should have been reported by the radiologist along with a recommendation for a follow up CT scan.
Because the abnormality was not identified or communicated, our client left the hospital unaware that what was later determined to be a one-inch lung cancer tumor was present. He is considered to be a “never smoker,” meaning he has never used tobacco products, a group that accounts for only five percent of all lung cancer diagnoses.
Fourteen months later, on April 15, 2022, our client returned to the emergency room for unrelated reasons. During that visit, a CT scan properly identified a two-inch mass in his right lung. He was then diagnosed with lung cancer, which he alleged had progressed from Stage I to Stage II because of the delay in diagnosis.
According to testimony presented at trial, an earlier diagnosis in 2021 would still have required surgery but would have allowed our client to avoid the difficult courses of chemotherapy and immunotherapy that became necessary after the delay. Medical experts also testified that the delay more than doubled his long-term risk of recurrence. A timely diagnosis would have carried a twenty percent chance of the cancer returning at five years, compared to a forty-five percent chance after the fourteen-month delay.
Despite these allegations and expert opinions, the insurance company representing the radiologist offered no compensation before trial. After hearing the evidence, the jury found in favor of our client and awarded one million dollars for medical expenses and for the increased fear of cancer recurrence and mortality resulting from the delayed diagnosis.
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