PA Jury Awards $5M In Skin Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawsuit

UPDATED: Jun 29, 2022

Advertiser Disclosure

It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right legal decisions.

We strive to help you make confident insurance and legal decisions. Finding trusted and reliable insurance quotes and legal advice should be easy. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.

UPDATED: Jun 29, 2022Fact Checked

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Jeffrey Johnson

Insurance Lawyer

Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...

Insurance Lawyer

UPDATED: Jun 29, 2022

Advertiser Disclosure

It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right legal decisions.

We strive to help you make confident insurance and legal decisions. Finding trusted and reliable insurance quotes and legal advice should be easy. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.

Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about legal topics and insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything legal and insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by experts.

UPDATED: Jun 29, 2022

Advertiser Disclosure

It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right legal decisions.

We strive to help you make confident insurance and legal decisions. Finding trusted and reliable insurance quotes and legal advice should be easy. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.

UPDATED: Jun 29, 2022Fact Checked

A Pennsylvania jury awarded $5 million to a woman who was left severely deformed after her dermatologist failed to diagnose her skin cancer. Cancer misdiagnosis is too common an occurrence and is often the result of a doctor’s advice to simply “monitor the situation.”

Pennsylvania Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawsuit

Kimberly Reed went to her dermatologist, Dr. Robert Rhodes, in 2005 to have him look at a skin lesion on her cheek. Rhodes told her that it was a benign cyst and that, like so many people hear from their own doctors, they should monitor the situation over the next six months. Taking her doctor’s advice, Reed did nothing.

The next six month visit came and went with the same diagnosis – a benign cyst that should be monitored. However, at a routine family doctor check-up shortly afterward, Reed’s doctor performed a biopsy and she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called dedifferentiated liposarcoma. What followed was horrific. Reed had to undergo four separate surgeries to remove the cancer from her cheek which required removing approximately two-thirds of the left side of her face. She then had to undergo seven reconstructive surgeries, she lost four teeth, her face is deformed and she continues to have extreme pain when eating and talking.

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Reed filed a lawsuit against Rhodes. Her Pennsylvania malpractice lawyer was able to prove to a jury that the doctor’s negligence was the proximate cause of Reed’s injuries and that he should have done a biopsy right away. Reed was awarded $5 million – $500,000 for past pain and suffering, $3 million for future pain and suffering and $1.5 million for future lost wages. In addition, her husband was awarded $350,000 for loss of consortium.

Consulting With A Cancer Misdiagnosis Attorney

If you’ve been injured due to a medical professional’s negligence, you owe it to yourself to consult with an experienced cancer misdiagnosis lawyer to determine whether or not you might be entitled to compensation and if pursuing your medical malpractice case makes sense for you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Jeffrey Johnson

Insurance Lawyer

Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...

Insurance Lawyer

Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about legal topics and insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything legal and insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by experts.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption