In January 2002, a young woman in her 30s Cynthia Storm went to see the doctor after she discovered a lump in her breast. When a mammogram and ultrasound failed to detect a tumor, the doctor did not order a biopsy, and because of this, Storm's breast cancer diagnosis was not made as soon as it could have been. When the breast lump was eventually biopsied in October of that year, the cancer had spread.
Experts testified that the delay in diagnosis led to surgery and chemotherapy that might not have been necessary had the breast cancer been diagnosed earlier in the year. The jury awarded Storm $770,000, including $250,000 for pain and suffering, $150,000 for loss of life's pleasures, $100,000 for disfigurement, $50,000 for embarrassment, $20,000 for unpaid medical expenses and $200,000 for loss of earnings. Her husband, Christopher, was awarded $125,000 for loss of consortium.
1. Hopefully all of the doctor's will start taking breast lumps in young women seriously
Posted at 4:38PM on Aug 19th 2006 by Sarah