Injuries alleged: Diminished chance of survival
Court: Withheld
Amount of settlement: $1 million
Case Summary:
In November of 2000, plaintiff, then 18 years old, was noted to have a mole on her left calf and underwent an excision followed by full thickness skin graft. The pathologist rendered a diagnosis of "cicatrix, dysplastic junctional nevus."
In July of 2005, plaintiff sought medical treatment for a lump she noted in her upper left thigh. Biopsy was conducted, and pathology revealed metastatic melanoma. Following the reading of the 2005 slides, the original slides from the November, 2000 excision were re-read by outside facilities where it was determined that the slides were consistent with invasive malignant melanoma and had been misread. Subsequently, the tissue block from the original 2000 excision was obtained and reviewed. It revealed microscopic satellite lesions, which carry with it a very poor prognosis and would have resulted in plaintiff being categorized as a Stage IIIB had she been timely diagnosed in 2000.
The plaintiff has undergone substantial treatment over the last three years, and her prognosis is poor.
In light of the plaintiff's prognosis, counsel for the both the plaintiff and the defendant worked expeditiously to conclude extensive discovery. The case was settled approximately nine months after it was filed for $1,000,000.00.
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