Matsuyama v. Birnbaum

Facts

Plaintiff began experiencing gastric distress in 1988. He was still suffering from this distress in July 1995 when he began to see Defendant, a primary care physician. Defendant recommended that Plaintiff take over-the-counter medications for heartburn and acid reflux to resolve his pain. Plaintiff then developed moles on his body and over his eye, and Defendant determined that they were benign. After Plaintiff visited an urgent care facility for severe stomach pain, Defendant ordered a test for a bacteria, H. pylori, that is connected to several diseases, including gastric cancer. The test was positive, and Defendant diagnosed Plaintiff with gastritis, a non-malignant irritation. Defendant made this diagnosis without further tests to confirm it, or to rule out gastric cancer. Defendant finally diagnosed Plaintiff with gastric cancer in 1999. At that point, it was too late to treat Plaintiff and he died within a few months of the diagnosis. Plaintiff’s estate sued Defendant for negligence and a jury found for Plaintiff, awarding $160,000 for pain and suffering and $328,125 for loss of chance damages. Loss of chance damages were awarded by first determining that full wrongful death damages would equal $875,000 and then finding that at the time of Defendant’s initial negligence, Plaintiff’s cancer was in Stage 2, giving him a 37.5 percent chance of survival. The loss of chance damages came from calculating 37.5 percent of $875,000. Defendant appealed.