This professional liability matter arose out of a plaintiff’s allegations that a family doctor failed to disclose his findings on rectal examination to a general surgeon whom he referred the patient to for rectal bleeding in 2014. Ultimately, the plaintiff was diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2018 which he alleged was undiagnosed in 2014 due in part to the family doctor’s negligent referral. After a 6-day jury trial in Lancaster County, Saxton & Stump attorneys obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a health system and their employed family doctor. Through the testimony of an experienced family medicine expert, the jury found that the family doctor properly referred the patient and was not required to disclose his findings on examination to the surgeon who performed his own independent evaluation.
Additionally, we proved through the expert testimony from a gastrointestinal oncologist at the top cancer treatment center in the country that the patient developed a tumor in a completely different location in the rectum than the area of concern four years prior when the family medicine physician made the surgery referral.