Doctor Misreads Test, Tells Woman She's Dying

After unneeded chemo, she wins $367K
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 16, 2013 6:21 PM CDT
Doctor Misreads Test, Tells Woman She's Dying
   (Shutterstock)

A Texas doctor has been found guilty of medical malpractice, but there's at least the sliver of a silver lining: His mistake was misreading lab results and telling a perfectly healthy woman that she was dying of breast cancer, reports the Houston Chronicle. So that woman is fine, if understandably traumatized. Herlinda Garcia, 54, had to go through seven months of chemotherapy—obviously unnecessary, as it turns out—and begin preparing herself, her husband, and their four kids for her death. She lived with the diagnosis for more than a year, until a medical center conducted routine scans before treating her for anxiety. For all that, a jury awarded her $367,500 last week. (More medical malpractice stories.)

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