A Virginia Beach jury recently awarded a family $1.5 million for the death of a 51 year old caused by the failure to diagnose cancer.
The cancer started as a raw spot on a finger. The doctors treated it as just an infection. Only with a second biopsy did the doctors figure out that this was a melanoma. Melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer. Unfortunately, the pathologist did not test for the melanoma with the first biopsy. By the time of the discovery of the cancer, it had already spread to the man’s lungs and brain.
Doctors hired by the doctors’ insurance company tried to claim that the delay in diagnosis did not make a difference. Their argument was that the melanoma was already so widespread that even if it had been found earlier, it would not have saved the man. Obviously, the jury disagreed.
As is typical in these cases, the defense experts were high powered doctors, including a Chairman of Surgical Onocologist at MCV in Richmond and a professor from Harvard. We, on the plaintiff’s side, have to know the right doctors with good credentials who will stand up for what is right.
The defense also argued that a reasonable work up had been done by the doctors because melanoma is more typically found on moles and birth marks, although they also occur in places like nail beds, the soles of feet and on palms. The award was very close to the cap for medical malpractice in Virginia, which is currently at $1.7 million, no matter what harm the doctor causes . Medical negligence is tough work for the attorney for plaintiff, but good results like these make it seem worthwhile.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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