Another North Carolina Breast Cancer Patient Misdiagnosis Complaint Filed by Grant & Eisenhofer Against Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
July 01 2024 - 12:12PM
Another misdiagnosed North Carolina breast cancer patient,
represented by the medical negligence team at Grant &
Eisenhofer (G&E), has just filed a complaint with the North
Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS). The
filing comes just weeks after the firm filed a similar action on
behalf of a 32-year-old former Atrium Health patient who underwent
radical treatments – including hysterectomy and double mastectomy –
for an aggressive form of breast cancer (HER2 Positive) she only
recently learned was unnecessary, according to her G&E
attorneys.
The misdiagnosed patient in the latest filing, whose identity is
being kept confidential to protect her privacy, is also a North
Carolina resident – a mother and grandmother – who was 59 when she
was initially diagnosed in 2020 with HER2 breast cancer. Treatment
included 13 cycles of debilitating chemotherapy, according to the
complaint, and her G&E attorneys said she was only made aware
of the misdiagnosis May 29th of this year.
“My life and my family’s life were turned upside down because of
my cancer misdiagnosis and the treatments I underwent that I just
recently learned were completely unwarranted,” said the most recent
complainant. “When I should have been holding my new grandchild in
the hospital, I was in the hospital, too…but getting chemotherapy.
I can’t get those joyful moments back, but I can and will do what I
can to hold accountable those responsible for what happened to me
and many others.”
G&E attorney Lisa B. Weinstein, who heads the firm’s women’s
health practice, said after the administrative agency filing, “Each
of our clients learned of their catastrophic misdiagnosis through
Atrium Health’s risk management department; they remain in a state
of shock and bewilderment, and are anxious to find out what went so
tragically wrong.” Attorney Weinstein explained that these first
two filings represent a new and disturbing wave of breast cancer
misdiagnosis cases linked to the nation’s fifth largest non-profit
health care system. In the filings, the legal team is seeking
answers and accountability, and has noted that the hospital’s
pathology lab has admitted to the ‘grave errors’. G&E also
contends in its filing that “the lab at Atrium Health Wake
Forest Baptist presents a clear and present danger to the
well-being of North Carolina residents.”
Ms. Weinstein, based in Chicago and licensed to practice law in
North Carolina, was recently in Winston-Salem meeting with the
misdiagnosed patients and explained that the firm has specifically
demanded as part of its complaint “a comprehensive and transparent
investigation into the circumstances surrounding these
incidents.” She and her colleagues Elizabeth (Beth) Graham and
Elizabeth A. Bailey, are committed to working with all those
involved – including the healthcare regulators – to ensure that
Atrium Health “identifies the root causes of these errors and
implements immediate corrective measures to prevent similar
occurrences in the future.”
The lawyers, noting that complaints filed with the state are
subject to a comprehensive review process, said they are still
trying to determine how many HER2 Positive misdiagnosis cases have
occurred since 2019. “We have been contacted by several former
patients who’ve been advised by Atrium Health they were
misdiagnosed. One instance of misdiagnosis is one too many; based
on our inquiry to date, we fear there are many, many more,” they
added.
The attorneys noted these very recent revelations of
misdiagnosis are deeply disturbing on their own, but additionally
because of the health system’s checkered history – leading to
federal investigations and “corrective measures” ordered –
regarding disease (including cancer) misdiagnoses leading to
unnecessary treatment. Specifically, in 2018, more than two dozen
patients were reportedly found, including by the hospital’s own
internal inquiry, to be victims of “faulty pathology” lab tests. In
two of those cases, according to the hospital, patients who
underwent radical cancer surgery and radiation were later
determined to have been cancer-free prior to treatment.
Contacts:Lisa B. Weinstein / lweinstein@gelaw.com /
312-610-5351M. Elizabeth (Beth) Graham / egraham@gelaw.com /
302-622-7099Elizabeth A. Bailey /ebailey@gelaw.com/
302-622-7195Steph Rosenfeld / steph@idadvisors.com /
215-514-4101
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/be0f9d5f-b881-4d8a-a640-5e7ae5b66f01