December 2010 News
Jury enters verdict in favor of pathologist represented by Eichhorn & Eichhorn, LLP
Alyssa Stamatakos and Carly Brandenburg successfully defended a medical malpractice case filed against a Northwest Indiana pathologist who was sued by one of his former patients. The patient was a long-time smoker who became ill in the spring of 2001, and his doctors suspected lung cancer. They ordered that he undergo a fine needle aspiration of the lung. The pathologist interpreted the cells extracted during the aspiration and diagnosed the patient with cancer. Four months later, the patient’s condition began to improve, and subsequent testing revealed that he, in fact, did not have cancer. The patient contended that the cancer diagnosis caused him emotional injury and also caused him to neglect his two businesses, causing significant pecuniary damages. Alyssa and Carly argued that the pathologist properly interpreted the patient’s lung aspirate specimens. They explained that this is generally a reliable area of medicine, but as with every medical test, is not perfect. The patient’s cells looked like cancer, but he was one of the rare people who fortunately fell within the margin of error. After three days of trial, the jury concluded there was no medical malpractice and returned a verdict in favor of the pathologist.
Alyssa and Carly work in the firm’s Hammond office and can be reached at (219) 931-0560, or by email at astamatakos@eichhorn-law.com or cbrandenburg@eichhorn-law.com.