$2 Million Settlement for Failure to Diagnose Cancer in a Teen

The family of a 16-year-old teen received a $2 million settlement from the orthopedist who failed to detect a malignancy on a hip x-ray. The girl, who complained of atraumatic hip pain, visited her orthopedist, who took and read a hip x-ray. Not seeing anything abnormal on the x-ray, he diagnosed the girl with tendonitis. A year and a half later she was diagnosed with a soft tissue cancer known as a sarcoma which was located in the hip/thigh, and, which had spread to other organs and tissue. Review of the original x-rays taken by the orthopedist clearly revealed that a small abnormality could be seen on the film in the same location where the sarcoma was later diagnosed. The orthopedist failed to appreciate this finding, which, had it been detected would have led to early diagnosis of the tumor and allowed for it to have been resected at an earlier stage, carrying an 80-90% cure rate. By the time the sarcoma was detected, the patient required multiple surgeries and extensive oncological treatment. Unfortunately, she could not survive the disease. Blume Goldfaden principal Michael B. Zerres settled the case on behalf of the family.