$5.7 Million Verdict In Failure To Diagnose Liver Cancer Lawsuit

A jury has awarded the husband of a woman who died of liver cancer $5.7 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit alleging a doctor and hospital system failed to diagnose and treat the disease.

Ellen Weiss Kander, the co-founder of the Steeltown Entertainment Project and an active member of numerous Pittsburgh organizations, died in June 2012 of liver cancer at the age of 51.

Her husband, Gregg M. Kander, sued Dr. Mounzer Agha, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute alleging, among other things, that the defendants failed to properly diagnose a lesion on his wife's liver, and that, if caught earlier, it would have been treatable with surgery.

According to the lawsuit, Ellen Weiss Kander had a CT scan in 2007 because of concerns she had about enlarged lymph nodes and possible lymphoma. The scan showed a liver lesion of 1.9 centimeters, and she began treatment with Agha later that year. The suit alleged that Agha did not believe a liver biopsy was necessary, opting instead for “watchful waiting.” If she remained symptom free, another scan would be taken the following year, the suit said. That scan was never scheduled.

In May 2011, Kander had a scan at the Mayo Clinic. It revealed, according to the suit, “a grossly enlarged liver lesion which ultimately proved to be an 11 centimeter malignant liver tumor." She died about a year later.

Ross Feller Casey has a national reputation for litigating and winning multimillion verdicts and settlements in cases involving the failure to properly diagnose and treat all types of cancers, including liver cancer lawsuits.

If you or a loved one suffered from a delay in diagnosing cancer, you should contact our experienced team of cancer attorneys now for a free case evaluation.