Minor v. Anonymous Physician Assistant
Recovery: $875,000
On August 3, 1998, Ruth K. Minor, who was the time was 51 years old, presented to defendant’s medical practice in Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, with complaints of rectal bleeding and blood in her stools. Even though Ms. Minor was over 50 years old and had a family history of colon cancer, defendant Physician Assistant failed to evaluate or test Ms. Minor for colon cancer. Without ordering the appropriate tests, the defendant Physician Assistant incorrectly diagnosed Ms. Minor as having anal fissure. The Physician Assistant prescribed an ointment and told Ms. Minor not to worry about it. In reality, Ms. Minor had actually developed early stage colon cancer, which could have been successfully treated had it been correctly diagnosed. However, since it was not timely detected, Ms. Minor’s cancer spread beyond the colon, and significantly reduced her life expectancy.
