Defense Verdict in Favor of Emergency Room Physicians and Hospital in Breast Cancer Case
Attorneys Carolyn M. Bohmueller and Jamie N. Johnson secured a verdict in favor of two emergency room physicians and a hospital in a two-week trial in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas involving a claim of failure to diagnose recurrence of breast cancer. The patient had been diagnosed with breast cancer at age 23 and underwent surgical and adjuvant therapy. She continued to follow with her oncologist. Fourteen years later, she presented to a local emergency department with complaints of left-sided chest pain, which were evaluated and determined to be non-specific, and she was instructed to follow up with her providers. The following year, she presented again to the emergency department with a complaint of pain in her head behind her right ear, which was evaluated and she was instructed to follow up with her primary care physician. Over two years later, the patient was diagnosed with widely metastatic recurrent breast cancer in her lungs, pelvis and brain. The jury determined that neither of the emergency room physicians, nor the hospital, were negligent.