Florida Woman Awarded $7 Million Settlement After Missed Cancer Diagnosis

A Florida woman who was told her mammogram was clear received a $7 million settlement after she was diagnosed with terminal Stage 4 breast cancer.

Deborah Higgs found a lump in February 2022 and visited Baptist Medical Park in Pensacola, where Dr. Henry Lusane, a radiologist, gave her the all-clear, saying that her diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound showed “that nothing was wrong,” court records obtained by the Pensacola News Journal revealed.

By October, the lump had grown and become painful. This time, when Lusane looked at the diagnostic imaging data, he “noted the high suspicion for malignancy,” Higgs’ attorney, Jonathan Freidin, said.

“So there was an eight-month delay in her treatment for cancer,” Freidin told the newspaper.

Higgs was then diagnosed with terminal Stage 4 breast cancer.

“I was in complete disbelief. I guess you could call it denial,” Higgs told the outlet. “I had been very conscious of my breast health. I was just shocked. It didn’t make sense to me. And I was actually quite angry to hear that. It felt wrong.”

Higgs determined the only way to regain power in the situation was to take the doctor and hospital to court.

While in court, Baptist Medical Center’s lawyers claimed that it was not responsible for the failings of Lusane or Acumen Medical Imaging and Interventional, the doctors’ group he works the medical staff worked for. The doctors’ group also denied responsibility for the missed diagnosis.

The medical center presented documents signed by Higgs in which she consented to “expressly agree to discharge the liability of the hospital for services rendered by independent contractors,” her lawyer said.

Her lawyer noted the waiver of any liability for patient care appeared to be “unique to Baptist.”

“That was difficult to hear,” Higgs said. “We look at hospitals as trustworthy, professional and experienced, focused on you as a patient’s well-being.”

However, a judge later told the court that a document sent to Higgs by the hospital alerting her that her original mammogram found no cancer had the Baptist letterhead, indicating that the hospital “controlled the manner Lusane’s interpretation was communicated.”

The judge decided to let a jury to weigh both documents. However, a settlement was reached last month, just before opening arguments in the case were scheduled to begin, Freidin told the newspaper.

Higgs was awarded a settlement of $7 million, with $5 million coming from Baptist Health Care and $2 million coming from Acumen Medical Imaging and Interventional.

“After years of ongoing dispute, all parties have agreed to a mutually acceptable resolution to avoid the distraction and expense of continued litigation," Baptist said in a statement to the newspaper. "The agreement does not represent an admission of guilt or liability. Our commitment to providing compassionate, high-quality care has been, and continues to be, at the heart of everything we do."

Meanwhile, E. Victoria Penny, a lawyer for Lusane, told the newspaper that privacy laws prohibit them from commenting on a patient’s private health information.

"The settlement was a compromise of a disputed claim and not an admission of fault, and plaintiffs acknowledged that in the terms of the settlement. The allegations remain allegations,” the attorney said.

As part of the settlement, Baptist Health Care agreed to provide patients with documentation that said “something along the lines of, ‘Even though the results appear normal, you should follow up with your provider,’” Higgs’ attorney, Freidin, said.

The radiology group also agreed to adopt a new policy allowing women who come in with a lump on their breast to request an audience while meeting with the radiologist, Freidin said.

Higgs said the outcome sends an important message to women.

“I think we accomplished what we wanted to accomplish,” she said. “That hope of other women having a say in their health care was just so important. That was the victory for me.”