Six figure recovery for improper treatment of throat cancer

For people diagnosed with throat cancer, radiation is a mainstay of treatment, but doctors have to
be careful about the extent of the radiation they deliver to the patient. In this case, our client had
a small, localized area of cancer near the vocal cord, yet radiation was ordered for the entire
throat and beyond. As a result of the wide and extensive amount of radiation, the patient
suffered permanent swelling in his trachea (airway) and esophagus (food pipe). The swelling in
the airway put him at risk for sudden collapse of the trachea, a life-threatening circumstance, and
the swelling of the food pipe had an impact on what foods he was able to properly digest.

There was no debate that the plaintiff needed some degree of radiation, but the dispute was about
how much radiation was appropriate. We relied on medical experts in the field of radiation
oncology to establish our argument that the amount of radiation delivered to this patient was
excessive. As is true in most medical cases, the opposing expert disagreed with our argument
and said that the amount of radiation the patient received was appropriate. After the claim was
filed, the two sides in the case eventually agreed to participate in a voluntary mediation during
which the case ultimately settled out of court. Mediation is a common tool used in medical cases
in order to determine whether an out-of-court compromise, which saves time and money in the
long run, is something that the parties can agree to. Not all mediations are successful in
achieving a settlement, but this one was.