PLAINTIFF’S CLAIM The patient first showed signs of serious postsurgical bleeding while in the recovery room, but the blood loss was not addressed. The hysterectomy was not performed in a timely manner to address the uterine atony, which caused the bleeding.
PHYSICIAN’S DEFENSE Not reported.
VERDICT $1 million Maryland settlement.
Surgery, inadequate Paps—then stage IV endocervical Ca
FOLLOWING A DIAGNOSIS of cancer in her endocervix, a woman had the cancer removed surgically. Her physician scheduled her for semiannual Pap smears to monitor the endocervix for recurrence of the cancer, but he ordered no other testing. He performed the Pap smears; however, as the surgery had closed off the endocervix, the spatula could reach only the ectocervix and not the endocervix, which needed to be sampled. When the lab reported back that there were no endocervical cells on the smears, the patient was just told that the results were normal. She also was not informed that the endocervix could not be reached. Eventually, the patient received a diagnosis of stage IV endocervical cancer.
PLAINTIFF’S CLAIM Follow-up Pap smears to obtain adequate samples including endocervical cells were to have been performed. Her physician concealed the fact that he was unable to obtain an adequate sample from the previously cancerous area, and he failed to monitor her for recurrence of that cancer.
PHYSICIAN’S DEFENSE The claims for all but one of the Pap smears was time-barred, and the concealment argument did not apply.
VERDICT Confidential Florida settlement after a defense motion for summary judgment was denied.