A Chicago-based hospital recently reached a $7.5 million settlement with one former patient’s estate over a delayed lung cancer diagnosis.
A Cook County, Illinois, judge approved the agreement late last month, without Mark James’ family ever filing a lawsuit. The now-deceased man had sought care at the University of Illinois Hospital for possible venous stenosis in his kidney, which included a CT scan of his abdomen and pelvis, in November 2017.
The radiologist who read the scan spotted a mass on his lungs at the time and recommended additional tests. But he did not share that info with James, the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin reported Thursday. James returned in May 2019 after experiencing pain and swelling in his shoulder and chest. A new CT scan revealed lung cancer that had metastasized and after a few months of treatment at UI Health, he died in July of last year at age 63.
“We extend our deepest sympathy to the family. In the best interests of all parties, the university has reached a settlement agreement,” Sherri McGinnis Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for the University of Illinois at Chicago, wrote in a statement provided to the Bulletin.
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Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.