Tony Taweel and Kelly Houk recently secured a defense victory for a healthcare organization in Oakland County facing a medical malpractice claim.
Case Summary
This medical malpractice claim was brought against a surgical oncologic otolaryngologist and his professional corporation. The Plaintiff alleged the doctor failed to properly monitor him for the recurrence of parotid cancer, specifically, that he failed to review serial imaging studies showing the cancer had returned and grown, causing a delay in treatment.
Defense at Trial
The defense countered on several fronts:
- Standard of care: The doctor did review the imaging studies and clinically correlated them with the Plaintiff’s physical exams and reported history.
- Causation: The imaging did not actually show the cancer had increased in size.
- Comparative negligence: The Plaintiff himself failed to follow up with the defendant for 2 years and 4 months.
Outcome
After a 9-day trial, the Plaintiff sought a verdict exceeding $4,000,000. Following just 3.5 hours of deliberation, all eight jurors unanimously found that the defendant doctor did not breach the standard of care, a full defense verdict.
At SHRR, we’re proud to continually strengthen our team of attorneys and deepen our expertise in medical malpractice defense in Michigan.
