Connecticut Supreme Court Upholds Medical Negligence Verdict
A recent Connecticut Supreme Court case involved a woman's lawsuit against an obstetrician and gynecologist who failed to properly warn the woman of her risk for developing ovarian cancer.
October 10, 2012
Connecticut Supreme Court Upholds Medical Negligence VerdictPeople who suffer injury or prolonged illness due to medical malpractice deserve access to justice and compensation for protracted suffering, ongoing medical expenses and other damages. When a doctor or oncologist fails to diagnose cancer or another serious illness, a patient can lose precious time to fight a serious or terminal condition.
A recent case before the Connecticut Supreme Court involved a woman's lawsuit against an obstetrician and gynecologist whom a jury had found negligent for failing to properly warn the woman of her risk for developing ovarian cancer. The woman has an extensive family history of breast cancer and had previously elected to have a bilateral mastectomy to reduce her own cancer risk.
She also underwent a partial hysterectomy under the defendant doctor's care due to the presence of noncancerous tumors in her uterus. At that time, the doctor found her ovaries to be healthy and advised that her medical history did not indicate an increased risk of ovarian cancer, and they were therefore not removed during that surgery.
A year after the hysterectomy, she received a diagnosis of advanced, terminal ovarian cancer, which had spread throughout her abdomen. After she sued the doctor for failing to provide proper gynecological care and other negligence, the jury concluded that she would not have developed ovarian cancer if the defendant had removed her ovaries at the time of the hysterectomy, found him negligent, and awarded the woman $4 million in damages.
The doctor appealed, arguing primarily that the only issue that should have been considered was whether he had obtained informed consent from the woman to perform the surgery. The Connecticut Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's verdict, holding that the woman had alleged a claim of medical negligence as well as lack of informed consent. Most important, the court established that a physician can incur liability for not meeting professional standards of care if he or she fails to provide a patient with certain information.
Subtle distinctions in legal meaning between concepts like "negligence" and "informed consent" can make a major difference in a patient's right to recover damages. By working closely with a medical malpractice attorney from the original consultation to final appeal, a victim of substandard medical treatment can explore all legal theories for recovery or defend against a doctor's attempt to deflect liability.
Article provided by The Pickel Law Firm, LLC
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