High Point, N.C. (June 4, 2024) – A North Carolina woman, whom was first misdiagnosed in 2019, when she was 27, underwent radical, irreversible HER2 Positive breast cancer treatments—only to find out she had been misdiagnosed and did not have the typically aggressive form of the disease—is now turning to the medical negligence attorneys at G&E to “find out what went so horribly wrong, and hold accountable all those responsible for shattering her life.” The now 32-year-old woman, a North Carolina resident whose identity is being kept confidential out of respect for her privacy, was subsequently shocked to learn she is not the only Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist (Atrium Health) hospital patient whom had been misdiagnosed and needlessly treated for HER2 Positive breast cancer.

“Our client, and her family, put their full faith, trust, and confidence in Atrium Health, the nation’s fifth largest non-profit health system, to diligently, professionally, and accurately diagnose and treat her,” said G&E attorney Lisa Weinstein who heads the firm’s national women’s health practice. “Our preliminary investigation, which includes a thorough review of the patient’s years-long medical records, continues into the circumstances regarding this unthinkable case of medical negligence, including misdiagnosis and unnecessary treatments. It is clear at this stage that her providers at Atrium Health, including its High Point Medical Center campus, abjectly failed to provide the standard of comprehensive care that would have shielded her from medical error and prevented the uncalled for, radical therapies—including hysterectomy, chemotherapy, chemo-immunotherapy, post-surgical KADCYLA® infusions, CT and MRI scans, and a double mastectomy—that have subjected her to unspeakable pain and suffering, along with the permanent inability to conceive. One instance of misdiagnosis is one too many; based on our inquiry to date, we fear there are many, many more,” she added. 

The patient, through her attorneys, said, “I’m asking my G&E lawyers to do everything possible to find out what went so horribly wrong with my care, and hold accountable all those responsible for shattering my life. My dream of someday having a family is now just that, a dream. I was stunned when doctors told me after all the treatments I endured—including chemo—that they weren’t necessary, and I could discuss the ramifications of the misdiagnosis and mistreatment with the Risk Management Department. That will not prevent another innocent victim from being subjected to what I’ve gone through.”

Along with other members of the G&E women’s health and medical negligence team—which include attorneys Elizabeth (Beth) Graham and Elizabeth A. Bailey—Ms. Weinstein added, “We have put Atrium Health on notice of our representation, formally requested they preserve all medical records relevant to our client’s care by all employed and affiliated members of their staff, and indicated that we will pursue all legal remedies on behalf of our current and all future clients whom have similarly suffered irreparable harm. We have also notified the appropriate state and local health officials about this issue out of concern for the public health, safety, and welfare. Not just the level of care, but the apparent culture of accepting medical errors at Atrium Health needs to be thoroughly examined, and corrected once and for all.”

The attorneys noted these very recent episodes of misdiagnosis are deeply disturbing on their own, but additionally because of the health system’s checkered history—leading to federal investigations and “corrective measures” ordered—regarding disease (including cancer) misdiagnoses leading to unnecessary treatment. Specifically, in 2018, more than two dozen patients were reportedly found, including by the hospital’s own internal inquiry, to be victims of “faulty pathology” lab tests. In two of those cases, according to the hospital, patients whom underwent radical cancer surgery and radiation were later determined to have been cancer-free prior to treatment.

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Contacts:

Lisa Weinstein
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312-610-5351

Elizabeth (Beth) Graham
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302-622-7099

Elizabeth Bailey
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302-622-7195

Steph Rosenfeld
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215-514-4101