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Delayed Cancer Diagnosis
Wrongful Death Case
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
$650,000 Settlement
This February 2008 wrongful death settlement was achieved just days before trial in a New Jersey court in Trenton. The case involved a medical malpractice suit against a dermatologist for failing to suspect a recurrence of melanoma and biopsy a suspicious lesion as early as 1998, and a surgeon for likewise failing to promptly biopsy and remove the lesion until 2001. The plaintiff's wife of 46 years, died in 2003 at age 68 after the cancer spread into her lungs. Although it is difficult for anyone to know when a cancer metastasizes, the case was poised to go to trial with noted experts retained in New York whose opinions were clearly that the doctors had increased the risk of harm and reduced the patient's chance of survival. The $650,000 settlement was substantial in light of the nature of the case, the age of the patient and other factors that would have impacted on liability and apportionment of damages.
