Groton Injury Lawyer
Norwich Woman Recieves $1.5 Million in Medical Malpractice Case
A Norwich woman has won a $1.5 million medical malpractice verdict after she sued her doctor for failing to diagnose her breast cancer seven years ago.
Evelyn E. Blanchette, 53, of Pin Oak Terrace, claimed that Dr. Frederick C. Barrett of Norwich was negligent because he did not order more tests in 1985 after the woman had a mammogram, according to her lawyers, Peter J. Bartinik and Shelly M. Weiss of Groton.
A New London Superior Court jury on Wednesday deliberated three hours before awarding Mrs. Blanchette $1,575,000.00. Judge D. Michael Hurley presided over the trial that lasted more than six weeks.
Mrs. Blanchette did not attend the trial because she is undergoing chemotherapy, Bartinik said. The woman sued Barrett in 1989, two years after she was diagnosed with having breast cancer. Bartinik alleged that Barrett should have done further testing when Mrs. Blanchette’s 1985 mammogram came back negative. He said mammograms are reliable in only 85 percent of the cases and that Barrett should have done a different test, referred her to a surgeon for a biopsy or ordered that an ultrasound be done.
A surgeon and an oncologist from the Yale University School of Medicine testified on behalf of Mrs. Blanchette, as did a Yale medical professor. They testified that Barrett was negligent in the way he managed Mrs. Blanchette’s case and the way he handled her breast abnormalities, Bartinik said. He said the woman had extensive surgery after her cancer was detected and that she might not have had to have such an elaborate procedure done if the cancer had been found earlier.
Bartinik said he was particularly disturbed by Barrett’s defense which alleged that early detection of breast cancer makes no difference in a person’s ability to survive the disease. He said the defense was contrary to what the American Cancer Society and other groups have been advocating to the public.
Barrett was insured by the Connecticut Medical Insurance Corp., which provides medical malpractice insurance for doctors, and provided Barrett’s defense. “This is an insurance company formed by doctors and for them to say that early detection makes no difference is, to say the least, difficult to swallow and in a way reprehensible for a group of doctors to take such a position,” Bartinik said.
Barrett’s lawyer, John J. Buckley of New Haven, could not be reached for comment. Bartinik said he thought the amount of the verdict reflected the jury’s anger at having such a defense presented.
The jury awarded Mrs. Blanchette $75,000 for loss of the affection and company of her husband and $1,500,000 in damages. The jury also awarded her interest on the award in the amount of $540,000 for the three years the legal case was pending.
The Bartinik Law Firm, P.C.
100 Fort Hill Road
Groton, Connecticut 06340
email: pjb@grotonlaw.com
860 445 8521
860 445 5873 fax
