Van Winkle • Baten Dispute Resolution

The case of a 10-month delay in the diagnosis of lung cancer piqued a discussion of the loss of chance doctrine, sec. 323 restatement of torts. The tumor was revealed on an x-ray for orthopedic problem, but the radiologist not looking for problems associated with the lung did not discover the mass. The oversight was only discovered when the patient is treated for what turned out to be cancer related symptoms. The subsequent x-ray revealed the cancer and the patient went back to see if the cancer was apparent in the initial x-ray. It was and the patient’s cancer surgery and treatment were not successful. She had only months to live at the mediation.