Our client was a 45 year-old sanitation worker who succumbed to cancer of the bladder. He had originally complained of left side pain and blood in the urine (hematuria) but his medical work-up at his health-care clinic, including an endoscopic procedure, showed the possible passage of stones but no abnormality within the bladder. When the hematuria continued, a second scan was performed but was misinterpreted as “normal”. Months later, our client was hospitalized and advanced stage cancer of the bladder was diagnosed, eventually leading to his death. The defense argued that even a timely diagnosis would not have changed the unfortunate outcome. Through our experts, we argued that the late diagnosis deprived this gentleman of a reasonable opportunity to fight back against the disease and the case settled for $925,000.

Our client’s husband and father was a 68 year-old retiree, who had been complaining about a burning pain in his abdominal region for about 4 years before he finally underwent a colonoscopy and was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. He passed away 7 months later. The defense claimed that the patient had refused medical advice to undergo a colonoscopy but there were no medical records supporting that contention. The defense also claimed that the family suffered virtually no significant financial losses as a result of the death. Since New York State does not permit the families of wrongful death victims to sue for loss of their loved ones’ comfort, society and affection, we were pleased to exact a settlement offer of $950,000, based primarily on the deceased’s pain and suffering during the last 7 months of his life.