Delay in Diagnosis of Malignant Melanoma/Skin Cancer

Settlement Amount: $2,000,000.00
Settlement Date: 6/2005
Attorney: Howard D. Mishkind, David A. Kulwicki

Description of Case: In 1997, Jane Doe, an accountant and mother of three, noticed that a mole in her groin region had changed in appearance. She went to her family doctor who removed the mole and sent it to a laboratory to be examined. The Defendant pathologist, an employee of the lab, reported that the mole was benign. In fact, the mole contained skin cancer called malignant melanoma. Malignant melanoma does not respond to any known chemotherapy. Mrs. Doe’s only chance of cure was early diagnosis and surgery to remove all evidence of cancer. Due to the misread pathology, cancer remained and spread throughout her body. By the time it was diagnosed two years later, there was no chance of cure. After several years of litigation, the pathologist’s insurer agreed to pay $2,000,000.00 to settle this claim before trial.

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