Physician Fails to Follow Up on Ultrasound Findings, Diagnose Cancer; $3M Settlement Reached

​An Illinois hospital, on behalf of one of its physician employees, agreed to pay $3 million to settle claims of negligence in the failure to follow up on an ultrasound study that discovered a complex ovarian cyst and failure to diagnose ovarian cancer in a timely manner, states a report from Zarin's Medical Liability Alert (subscription required). The primary care physician ordered an ultrasound to investigate the source of the patient's "unusual" pelvic pain. A radiologist identified a complex cyst and recommended follow-up scans. However, the defendant physician did not order additional testing and did not inform the patient about the cyst found on the ultrasound. The patient was ultimately diagnosed with ovarian cancer.