Family of Massachusetts Cancer Patient Gets $13.5M

November 7, 2008

A lawyer says the family of a 40-year-old woman who died after receiving experimental cancer drugs at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston has been awarded $13.5 million in a lawsuit.

Robert Higgins, a lawyer for the family of Amy Altman of Hopkinton, tells The Boston Globe that a Suffolk Superior Court jury decided Wednesday that her death could have been prevented if doctors had investigated the cause of chronic diarrhea that surfaced during treatment for a tumor behind her knee.

The jury deliberated for nine hours before awarding $9.4 million plus interest in the July 2003 death.

Dana-Farber officials said in a statement that “we strongly disagree with this verdict and firmly believe that the physicians involved provided a high standard of care.”

Topics Massachusetts

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Latest Comments

  • November 11, 2008 at 8:15 am
    JD says:
    I wonder how much the family really received?? In today's world the attorney probably receive 10 million and the family the rest.
  • November 10, 2008 at 5:09 am
    johnny o says:
    What a bunch of money grubbing pigs.
  • November 10, 2008 at 1:12 am
    GMAB says:
    There are no guarantees in this world - especially if you suffer from a severe health issue - How long would she have survived had she not been on this treatment? What are th... read more

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