Lorraine Shannon v. Kathryn L. Cook, M.D., et al.
Published: Nov. 30, 1996 | Result Date: Oct. 31, 1996 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 755251 – $0
Judge
Court
Orange Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Mark V. Franzen
(Carroll, Kelly, Trotter, Franzen, McBride & Peabody)
Experts
Plaintiff
Tennison Dong
(medical)
Jacob Terner
(medical)
Steven Armentrout
(medical)
Lawrence Cohen
(medical)
Michael J. Blumenkrantz
(medical)
Defendant
Lowell W. Rogers
(medical)
Patricia Sacks
(medical)
John R. Hesselink M.D.
(medical)
Facts
On Dec. 23, 1992, plaintiff Lorraine Shannon, a 63-year-old retired woman, presented to Newport Imaging Group for a screening mammogram. The plaintiff gave a history of having a daughter with prior breast cancer. She had previously had mammograms in January 1991 and December 1991, which were interpreted as normal by non-defendant Dr. Rawitch. The plaintiff had no signs of a palpable mass. Defendant Dr. Kathryn L. Cook, a radiologist, interpreted the Dec. 23, 1992 mammograms (two views, i.e., a cranio-caudal view and a medial-lateral oblique view) as normal "without any calcifications suspicious for malignancy." Her report recommended a follow-up mammogram in one year. The plaintiff did not have another mammogram until May 1995, following a diagnosis of metastatic liver cancer at Fountain Valley Regional Medical Center. That mammogrm was highly suspicious for malignancy, with 40 to 50 suspicious calcifications and a 1.7 centimeter mass in the upper outer quadrant of the left breast. At that time, the plaintiff was also diagnosed with extensive metastatic adenocarcinoma in the liver. The plaintiff underwent a mastectomy at Fountain Valley Regional Medical Center and commenced chemotherapy thereafter. Her prognosis for survival was two years based upon the extent of metastatic liver cancer. The plaintiff brought this action against Dr. Cook and Dr. Hartley Turpin (her general practitioner) based on professional negligence and medical malpractice theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff made a C.C.P. º998 settlement demand for $229,000 (per the defendants). Defendant Dr. Turpin made a settlement offer for $175,000.
Specials in Evidence
$35,000 $____________ $____________ $____________
Injuries
The plaintiff alleged she suffered delayed diagnosis of breast cancer, resuting in terminal metastic cancer to the liver.
Other Information
The verdict was reached approximately one year after the case was filed. EXPERT TESTIMONY: Defense experts, Drs. Link and Rogers, testified that the invasive portion of the tumor was only 3 millimeters and therefore there was less than a one percent chance the liver cancer had metastatized from the breast; and that the plaintiff's overall survivability was compromised by the liver cancer and not the breast cancer.
Deliberation
5 hours
Poll
12-0 (defendant Dr. Cook); 11-1 (defendant Dr. Turpin)
Length
9 days
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