Whitaker died from lung cancer twenty months after the chest scan…medicalmalpracticelawyers.com, $880,000 Settlement With VA For Failure To Follow Up On Suspicious Lesion On Chest Scan Of Long-Time Smoker, August 2024
CASE: In November 2020, Whitaker had a routine telehealth visit with his physician at the VA hospital during which the chest scan results were not discussed with him. A year later, in November 2021, Whitaker had an outpatient visit with his VA physician who noted that another scan of his lungs was due but the scan was not scheduled at that time.
Then, in February 2021, Whitaker went to the VA medical center’s emergency room after he began experiencing chest pain, was having trouble breathing, and he was coughing up blood. A growth in his upper left lung was then found that turned out to be Stage 3 squamous cell carcinoma. Despite beginning a regimen of chemotherapy, Whitaker suffered a cardiac event and died on March 27, 2022.
The United States agreed to settle the medical malpractice wrongful death claim with Whitaker’s widow, Anna, for $880,000, without admitting liability, which settlement was finalized on April 5, 2024.