Failure to Biopsy Tongue Lesion Leads to Death
$4.1 Million Pennsylvania Verdict

According to a Verdict Reporter, a 46-year-old man was diagnosed with oral cavity leukoplakia, a lesion on the tongue which is often precancerous. The lesion was biopsied and not cancerous. It recurred twice in the next four years, each time with the same biopsy result. Subsequently, during a regular six-month exam the patient complained of tissue soreness. The ENT informed him it was post-op pain from the most recent biopsy 15 months before. Six months later the patient complained again of pain and was given antibiotics for a possible infection. One month later the patient was seen by the defendant’s partner, who ordered a biopsy. Two days later the patient was diagnosed with metastatic tongue cancer. He underwent chemotherapy, radiation, removal of the tongue and teeth, rebuilding of the floor of the mouth, and a tracheostomy. He subsequently died. A medQuest ENT testified that the patient’s complaints of pain should have been taken more seriously. There was a negligent failure to perform an MRI, the best way to examine the back of the patient’s tongue. Early diagnosis would have allowed for a treatment approach before metastasis. The jury returned a verdict of $4,105,000, including $2,000,000 for wrongful death.