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Rare Lymphoma Battle: Family's Malpractice Case Succeeds
4 Nov
Summary
- Woman treated for breast cancer, found to have rare lymphoma.
- Family alleges doctors missed conflicting test results, delaying treatment.
- PA Supreme Court allows medical malpractice claims to proceed to jury.
A Pennsylvania woman's prolonged breast cancer treatment preceded the discovery of a rare and aggressive lymphoma, leading her family to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit. Tanya Smith passed away in January 2019, with her family alleging that medical professionals neglected to investigate conflicting test results, thereby delaying her accurate diagnosis and treatment. The case, initially dismissed during a jury trial, has now been allowed to proceed to a jury by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
The dispute originated in March 2017 when Smith's enlarged lymph node prompted a biopsy. Initial findings suggested metastatic breast cancer, and Smith commenced chemotherapy and radiation. However, subsequent imaging tests failed to locate a primary breast tumor and suggested lymphoma as a possibility. Despite these inconsistencies, breast cancer treatment continued for over a year.
A biopsy during gallbladder surgery in March 2018 revealed ALK-positive large B-cell lymphoma. Re-examination of earlier tissue samples confirmed she had lymphoma from the outset. Smith then received lymphoma-directed chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, but the transplant was unsuccessful, and she died on January 6, 2019.
Experts testified that the 13-month delay in diagnosing the lymphoma likely reduced Smith's chances of survival and a successful transplant. The Supreme Court's October 29 judgment affirmed that expert testimony regarding increased risk of harm due to alleged negligence is sufficient for a jury to consider malpractice claims in delayed treatment cases.
