This week a Baltimore City Jury compensated the family of a Catonsville, Maryland man $3,800,000.00 after finding his medical doctor’s negligence caused him to die of breast cancer at just fifty four years old. Maryland’s cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases will, in all likelihood, cause the verdict to be reduced to less than $1.1 Million dollars. The evidence presented basically showed that the doctors were overwhelmed with the requirements of seeing too many patients.
In this case, Dr. Bernita C. Taylor, who was found to be at fault, was having to see over 25 patients a day and each for less than 20 minutes. Such volume can cause mistakes to happen. The lead plaintiff’s lawyer Briggs Vedigan was quoted as saying:
“Doctors are being forced to see too many patients, and communication is lacking… Medicine needs to go back to stressing quality over quantity.”
Many times patients who are diagnosed with cancer in Maryland are diagnosed when it is too late to perform treatment (e.g. chemotherapy, biopsies, surgery) that could cure the cancer or at least give the individual patient a decent shot of surviving.
When a medical professional fails to diagnose a condition such as cancer in a timely manner, and as a result of the medical mistake the patient suffers injury or dies, then the medical professional and his employer are liable to the patient under Maryland Medical Malpractice law.
If you or someone you love has a condition that you believe should have been diagnosed earlier then you should consult with a medical-legal professional. At Goldberg Finnegan, we have medical malpractice lawyers who are also trained registered nurses/medical professionals to assist in the evaluation of your potential case. Medical Malpractice consultations are free and there is no attorney fee or costs unless there is a recovery in the case. Call a Silver Spring personal injury attorney from our firm at (888) 213-8140 for a free medical-legal phone consultation to determine if your loved one’s medical condition was due to a negligent failure to properly diagnose the