Kaiser Missed Developing Cancer, Lawsuit Claims
3-28-2019 00:30:00


SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) – Despite a series of pap smears, Kaiser’s technicians did not find a patient’s cervical cancer until it was Stage IV, according to her Sacramento County Superior Court lawsuit.


Julie Holmes and her husband Noah Holmes sued Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospital, doing business as Kaiser Foundation Hospital – Sacramento, and The Permanente Medical Group, Inc. for medical malpractice and loss of consortium.

Julie Holmes, 32, was diagnosed with Stage IV cervical cancer on Aug. 27, 2018, according to the action. Yet, she had been “under the sole and exclusive care” of  Kaiser for “several years” prior to this terrifying diagnosis. 

Kaiser had performed and examined “serial pap smears, which were read and reported as non-cancerous, and further negligently [failed] to timely diagnose or treat her cervical cancer,” the complaint claims.

According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate for women diagnosed with Stage IVA cervical cancer is 56 percent. Stage IVA means the cancer has spread locally beyond the cervix of the uterus to nearby organs such as the bladder or rectum. For Stage IVB, the survival rate is 17 percent. Stage IVB indicates the cancer has spread to more distant areas of the body, such as the liver or bones. The complaint does not specify whether the plaintiff’s diagnosis is Stage IVA or IVB.

Julie and Noah Holmes seek general damages for past and future medical expenses and loss of earnings and earning capacity, special damages for loss of consortium, and legal costs.

The plaintiffs are represented by Bruce G. Fagel of the Law Offices of Bruce G. Fagel & Associates in Beverly Hills, California.
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