| SETTLEMENT | $1,500,000 |
| CASE | Shirley James v. Jean-Marie Claude, M.D. & New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., No. 124411/01. |
| COURT JUDGE DATE |
New York Supreme Martin Shulman 3/11/2004 |
| PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY(S) | Thomas P.Giuffra, Barton , Barton & Plotkin L.L.P., New York, NY |
| DEFENSE ATTORNEY(S) | Cheryl A. Harris, Heidell, Pittoni, Murphy & Bach L.L.P., New York, NY |
On Aug. 25, 1995, she returned to the hospital for evaluation of chest pain and shortness of breath. Chest X-rays were performed, and the results were indicative of lower-lobe pneumonia.
In October 1996, James returned to the hospital and was again diagnosed with pneumonia. A hospital resident noted that it was James' fifth such diagnosis. The chest X-ray report recommended that a GT scan be performed for further evaluation of James' lower left lobe, but the scan was never performed.
In October 1997, James returned to the hospital for evaluation of chest pain and shortness of breath. She was admitted, and a chest X-ray and several cardiac tests were performed. The X-ray indicated a lower left lobe infiltrate, but the cardiac tests revealed no indication of ischemia or infarct. No further tests were performed to determine the continued cause of her chest pain or shortness of breath.
In September 1998, James presented to Harlem Hospital Center's Renaissance Health Care Clinic for evaluation of pain in her upper extremities. She was diagnosed with "skeletal pain or cardiac dysfunction."
In February 1999, James presented to Harlem Hospital Center for evaluation of chest pain. She was admitted, and doctors subsequently determined that her symptoms were consistent with unstable angina. A chest X-ray indicated the presence of a left-sided effusion with opacification. No additional treatment was recommended.
Between March 1999 and Sept. 25, 2000, James presented to the hospital twice and Renaissance Health Care Clinic four times. On each occasion, she complained of chest pain, shortness of breath and a persistent cough. The hospital maintained its diagnosis of pneumonia; the health center treated her for congestive heart failure.
On Oct. 11, 2000, James presented to Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, where she was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. James sued New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., which operates Harlem Hospital Center and Renaissance Health Care Clinic. She also sued her attending physician at the clinic: Dr. Jean-Marie Claude.
James claimed that she was hospitalized on eight separate occasions between April 1995 and November 2000, and that she was diagnosed with pneumonia each time. She claimed that her chest pain and shortness of breath were products of the early stages of lung cancer, but that the defendants failed to diagnose the condition. She also claimed that they failed to conduct appropriate tests to determine the cause of those symptoms, and that such failure constituted a departure from good and standard medical care.
James' expert radiologist testified that the defendants' X-rays showed the presence of an abnormal condition, and that the defendants were negligent for failing to compare their X-rays to James' prior X-rays.
James' expert pulmonologist testified that the defendants should have known that James could not have had pneumonia for five years and thus, that they should have ordered further testing.
The defendants claimed that they did not depart from good and standard care. They contended that James' problems were consistent with a cardiac condition, and that her X-rays revealed pneumonia-related scars-not a malignancy-in her left lower lobe. They argued that James developed lung cancer after September 1999, and that the cancer spread rapidly.
The hospital's treating radiologist testified that James' X-rays were properly
read, and that it was not her practice to review a patient's prior X-rays.
INJURIES/DAMAGES cancer
James claimed that her lung cancer could have been diagnosed in 1995,
and that it was in stage I at that time. She contended that the disease
progressed to stage IV-which is terminal-during the five years prior
to its diagnosis. James' expert oncologist testified that lung cancer diagnosed
at stage I has the greatest chance of cure.
RESULT The parties reached a $1.5 million settlement at the
close of the James' case.
| DEMAND | $1,500,000 |
| OFFER | $500,000 |
| PLAINTIFF EXPERT(S) | Dr. Stanley Sprecher, radiology, Brooklyn, NY |