Defense contends that therapy carries risk of radiation-induced cancer
Plaintiff was pregnant at the time she was diagnosed with oral cavity cancer. Surgery was performed. Because of the features of the cancer, national consensus guidelines and much of the medical literature indicated that plaintiff should have received post-operative radiation therapy or a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
Defendants recommended no additional treatment and did not inform plaintiff of the guidelines or the medical literature. Plaintiff continued the pregnancy, and after she delivered, the recurrence of her cancer was diagnosed. The cancer continued to spread and led to her death.
Defendants argued that there was no Level 1 evidence that post-operative radiation therapy or radiation therapy and chemotherapy would have prevented the death, and that any radiation therapy carries a risk of radiation-induced cancer and other significant side effects.
The matter settled for $2.5 million.
Type of action: Medical malpractice, wrongful death
Type of injuries: Metastatic oral cavity cancer leading to death
Court/Case no./Date: Confidential; confidential; Sept. 18, 2013
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