HUNTINGTON – A Cabell County woman says medical negligence led to her not learning of her cancer diagnosis for months after testing.
Kimberly Ann Fields filed her complaint October 10 in Cabell Circuit Court against Dr. Kenneth Andrew Pearson, Dr. Anum Sikandar and St. Mary’s Medical Center Inc.
“The negligent care by the doctors and staff at St. Mary’s Medical Center were a death sentence to Ms. Fields,” attorney L. Dante diTrapano told The West Virginia Record.
diTrapano
According to the complaint, Fields presented to the emergency department at SMMC on March 31, 2023, with complaints of left chest and back pain. Pearson ordered a CT Angio Chest with IV contrast, which revealed a stellate nodule in her left lower lobe measuring 1.8 cm. The reporting radiologist recommended follow-up care and imaging, and Fields was admitted for further cardiac evaluation.
She was discharged on April 2, 2023, under the care of Sikander. The discharge summary said Fields would follow up with the lung nodule clinic at Marshall. The summary apparently was dictated by PA Stephanie Price, according to the complaint.
“Sikander’s discharge instructions made no reference to Ms. Fields’ lung nodule, her need for follow-up care for her lung nodule nor to any scheduled follow-up appointments related to the lung nodule,” the complaint states.
But Fields says she wasn’t made aware of the results of the March 31 CT Angio until September 13, 2023, when she visited her primary care physician Dr. John A. Parker Jr., who ordered a new CT. That second CT showed the nodule had increased in size to 3.2 cm. Also, additional nodules were seen in the right upper, right lower and left upper lobes.
On a PET scan, Fields was noted as having a hypermetabolic left lower lube lung nodule. A bronchoscopy/biopsy showed squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, and she was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer.
After the diagnosis, Fields says she raised concerns to SMMC administrators that she had not been advised of her radiological findings nor the significance of those findings or the need for follow-up imaging.
Registered Nurse Susie Heffner investigated Fields’ concerns and confirmed there was no record of Fields having been told of the radiological findings nor any follow-up imaging scheduled. Heffner attributed these failures to Fields’ physicians and SMMC staff as well as inadequate SMMC procedures, according to the complaint.
In an October 30, 2023, letter, Heffner reported and apologized for the deficiencies. The letter said there was no documentation that the radiological finding had been discussed with her by the ED provider, that the attending doctor dictated she was to have an appointment at the MU Lung Nodule Clinic but nothing was done and that new processes had been put into place for placing orders to the MU Lung Nodule Clinic.
Fields accuses Pearson and Sikandar of professional negligence, and she accuses SMMC of medical negligence.
She seeks compensatory damages for past and future medical expenses, past and future physical pain and suffering, past and future loss of earnings, annoyance, embarrassment, humiliation, inconvenience and loss of enjoyment of life. She also seeks punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
Fields is being represented by diTrapano and David H. Carriger of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston and by Dr. Richard D. Lindsay of Tabor Lindsay & Associates in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Sean Hammers.
Cabell Circuit Court case number 24-C-368