Patient’s Death Result of “loss of chance”
The “loss of chance” doctrine came into play in a wrongful death lawsuit against a physician who failed to order the appropriate tests for his patient for several years after the patient complained of debilitating stomach pain. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that physicians can be held liable when their negligence decreases a patient’s chance of survival. The plaintiff in the case died of gastric cancer in 1999 after complaining for several years to his physician about stomach pains, but his doctor did not order diagnostic tests until May 1999. The delayed tests supported the diagnosis of gastric cancer, but the plaintiff’s time had run out and he died five months later. Chief Justice Margaret Marshall wrote, “Where a physician's negligence reduces or eliminates the patient's prospects for achieving a more favorable medical outcome, the physician has harmed the patient and is liable for damages.” The jury awarded $160,000 to his estate for pain and suffering caused by the physician's negligence. It also awarded $328,125 to the plaintiff’s widow and son for the decedent's loss of chance.
