News

December 21, 2007

Woman sues over delayed cancer test info

2005 test revealed colon cancer. Margaret Radginski wasn’t told until 2007.

WILKES-BARRE – A Hunlock Creek woman has sued a hospital and doctor after the doctor failed to tell her she had colon cancer.

The suit, filed by Margaret Radginski and her husband, says Radginski underwent testing by Dr. Feroz A. Sheikh at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital in November 2005.

The results of the test showed she had colon cancer, but Sheikh never relayed the results to Radginski or her doctor until Aug. 24, 2007, the suit says.

That meant Radginski was never given treatment for the cancer and the cancer was allowed to progress, the suit says.

Radginski, through attorney Michael J. Foley, filed the suit Thursday in Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas against Sheikh, the hospital, its corporate owner, Wyoming Valley Health Care System Inc., and Surgical Specialists of Wyoming Valley.

Radginski and her husband are seeking more than $75,000.

According to the suit:

On Nov. 2, 2005, Radginski was 61 when she had surgery for diverticulitis, a colon problem. Additional tests revealed a mass on the colon. The specimen was sent to a hospital lab and later determined to be cancer.

But Sheikh went on vacation shortly after Radginski’s November surgery, and Radginski was not advised of the test results “by any of the treating physicians apparently because of inadequate communication between” Sheikh and others at the hospital.

Sheikh dictated a discharge summary for Radginski in January and specified her diagnosis as diverticulitis. The report does not mention any diagnosis of colon cancer.

Sheikh should have sent Radginski for chemotherapy and other treatment, but he never sent her for any follow-up care. And he never notified Radginski’s family doctor of the cancer diagnosis.

Radginski continued to suffer from medical problems through August 2007, when she was told of the cancer diagnosis. She had surgery for the cancer in September when she was 63.

The suit says the negligence led to Radginski undergoing massive and disfiguring surgeries, having a diminished life expectancy, and having other problems.

She also has incurred and will continue to incur substantial medical expenses.

Kevin McDonald, a hospital spokesman, said Thursday hospital officials have not yet seen the suit, making it inappropriate to comment on the pending litigation.

David Weiss, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7397.

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