Year-and-a-Half Delay in Cancer Diagnosis, Newlywed Claims
9-24-2015 23:22:00


(CN) - A man had cancer that Kaiser did not properly or timely diagnose and treat, he claims in a complaint filed in Gwinnett County State Court, Georgia.


Cedric Smith; Kenesha Smith sued Yasmeen Haider MD; Yasmine Hijazi MD; Kenneth Sisco MD; Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories Inc.; Quest Diagnostics Nicols Institute Inc.; Southeast Permanente Medical Group Inc.; Kaiser Permanente for medical malpractice.

Smith went to Kaiser for an ongoing cough and congestion, he says.

Since a chest CT scan showed suspicious masses in each of Smith’s lung lobes, non-party Dr. Prout sent him to pathology, where he expected sarcoma or lymphoma to be found in his lungs, Smith says. There, non-party Dr. Fishman sent a core biopsy of Smith’s lung to Quest, the complaint states.

Defendant Dr. Haider interpreted the biopsy as containing non-small cell carcinoma with foci of adenocarcinoma, for which Smith was treated with chemotherapy, the complaint states.

Fishman also took a fine needle aspiration of Smith’s lung and sent it to Quest where it was interpreted by defendant Dr. Hijazi to be the same type of cancer. Defendant Dr. Sisco agreed with their interpretation, the complaint states.

A year and a half later, a second opinion at Emory diagnosed him with large B cell Lymphoma.

Along with “a substantial delay in his diagnosis,” Smith had unnecessary chemotherapy.

Smith is represented by Brandon R. Taylor and Jordan Jewkes of Webb & Taylor LLC of Peachtree City, Ga.

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