Errors and Omisssions Liability

Claim
A family practitioner at a health clinic is being sued by the family of an elderly woman who died of uterine cancer. The suit alleges the defendant failed to diagnose the deceased’s cancerous abdominal mass. The deceased had been a patient at the clinic for 12 years. During that time, the defendant was the physician who routinely administered her treatments, including gynecological care. The suit alleges that while the defendant ordered mammograms and examined the deceased externally, in the last few years she discontinued the practice of performing pelvic exams and Pap Smears. When the deceased complained to the defendant of a bulge in her stomach, she diagnosed her with a hernia and ordered an ultrasound. Seeking a second opinion, the deceased was evaluated by another physician who ordered additional diagnostic tests including a CT scan and endoscopy. The tests revealed a mass suspicious of cancer, which was later confirmed as Stage IV uterine cancer with metastasis to the abdomen. In her defense, the physician maintains that the standard of care for a woman of the deceased’s age was every two-to-three years for a Pap Smear. Further, she alleges that when she did attempt to schedule a Pap Smear on several occasions the deceased repeatedly put it off. She further maintains that in any case, a Pap Smear would not detect uterine cancer. She pointed out that an endometrial biopsy would be needed to detect uterine cancer, but says didn’t order one because the woman had no symptoms to warrant the test. Lawsuit is pending.