A forty-year-old man settled his claims against a Chicago area hospital for a failure to timely diagnose bowel cancer. The plaintiff went to the hospital for acute abdominal pain in February of 2020. A CT scan revealed appendicitis and he was admitted for surgery. A secondary finding on CT that showed a potentially cancerous area on his bowel and colonoscopy was recommended. But the Plaintiff was discharged home from the hospital without being informed of the findings or recommendation for colonoscopy. About six months later, the Plaintiff learned that he had colon cancer and began chemotherapy. He completed a course of chemotherapy and was in remission at the time of settlement. Plaintiff claimed that if he had learned of the CT findings, the cancer could have been diagnosed earlier, he could have avoided chemotherapy treatment, and that his five-year survival rate would be higher. Defense claimed that plaintiff failed to follow up with his surgeon after discharge per his discharge instructions and that the plaintiff would have needed chemotherapy regardless of the time that he was diagnosed, given that there was some evidence that his lymph nodes were involved when the initial CT scan was done. The man and his family were represented by Brion Doherty , LLP.
Napleton & Partners
