At Saffren and Weinberg, Marc Alan Weinberg, Attorney and Kenneth Scott Saffren, Attorney are partners. The firm’s tagline is “The People’s Voice In Court.” They make themselves available via phone at (215) 576-0100 or by email on the Saffren and Weinberg website. Saffren and Weinberg provides a no-charge, complimentary case review and answers questions for prospective clients.
10 Million Dollars Awarded in Cancer Medical Malpractice Case
When a medical professional is negligent by veering away from standard procedures of care, thereby causing harm to the patient, the action is referred to medical malpractice. Medical malpractice can have disastrous consequences for patients and their loved ones, causing worsened health and sometimes even death.
Unfortunately, medical malpractice cases don’t always make it to the court. Some get settled out of court, while some people are not aware or are too confused and eventually don’t file a case. Usually, people end up not filing a lawsuit due to lack of knowledge and awareness. Often people assume that doctors know best, and can’t even identify malpractice when it takes place.
To recognize medical malpractice, patients and their families need to be vigilant and conscious about the treatment being provided. Legal advice is usually necessary, but talking to a personal injury attorney may not help unless they also specialize in medical malpractice.
Reporting cases of negligence can help keep medical professionals on their toes and hold them accountable for their decisions and actions in diagnosing and treating patients. Courts sometimes award huge compensation in cases of medical malpractice to set an example and maintain pressure on the medical community. Consider, for example, a landmark judgment wherein the husband of a South Carolina woman was awarded $10 million as compensation by a Richland County jury. The case was of medical malpractice that resulted in the death of his wife.
Adolph Bannister’s wife Joann Bannister died of cancer in 2012 due to prolonged delay in treatment and surgery, caused by miscommunication among her doctors. The delay led to Joann not getting treated in time. Her chances of survival would have been higher if treatment had been administered promptly.
According to the lawsuit, Joann Bannister had a noncancerous growth on her left kidney in 2010. At the time her primary physician Dr. Jerry Robinson and her urologist Dr. Philip Kinder were both working on her case. Dr. Kinder was planning for surgery to remove the growth but ended up postponing all treatments including surgery.
The following year, in April 2011, Dr. Robinson observed that the left kidney might need to be ultimately removed partially or wholly. He advised the Bannisters to come for a follow-up, six months from that time. However, in just four months, pain in her lower back sent Joann back to Dr. Robinson, who advised a scan. The scan showed that the growth had increased further. At this point, the radiologist recommended that the growth is checked for malignancy.
The lawsuit claims that this information was not given to Dr. Kinder.
Another follow-up scan prescribed by Dr. Robinson in June 2012 showed that the growth had increased even more, at which point the radiologist stated that this was conclusive evidence that the growth was malignant. Unfortunately, by this point cancer had started spreading to other parts of Joann’s body.
The lawsuit states that the Bannisters met with a cancer specialist at this stage, but it was too late. The cancer had spread and was at an advanced stage. Joann Bannister died a short while later in October 2012, aged 70 years.
The medical malpractice claim was based on the grounds that Dr. Kinder did not follow up on the rapidly growing cancer, in time. If surgery had been done and the growth had been removed before August 2011, Joann Bannister would have in all likelihood survived.The lawsuit further states that the doctors continued to ignore the radiologists’ recommendations to check the growth for malignancy, and their advice to remove the tumor, for well over a year.
The medical malpractice case was against Dr. Kinder and Columbia Urological Associates, who tried to settle with Bannister’s kin by offering $250,000. Adolph Bannister rejected their offer.
Dr. Robinson was originally a defendant too, but his name was removed after no fault was found and his practice, Columbia Medical Associates, settled for $350,000 without admission of guilt. Eventually, after a trial that lasted over a week, the jury ruled in favor of the Bannisters and awarded them a whopping compensation amount of $10 million.
This case is a strong reminder of the importance of following up on medical malpractice.
Saffren & Weinberg can help you if you suspect negligence from your medical provider. If you want to discuss your case contact us at (215) 576-0100. You will need an experienced team of lawyers to make sure that you receive the right amount of compensation for all the trouble you’ve been through.
