Vegas Jury Awards Family $2.5M in Malpractice Case

February 3, 2009

A jury awarded $2.5 million in medical malpractice damages to the family of a Nevada woman who died at age 27 after doctors failed to diagnose her cancer.

Officials called it one of the largest medical malpractice awards in Clark County, Nev., District Court. At least one other medical malpractice award has been larger, a $20.5 million judgment in 2007.

In this latest case, the jury held Dr. Steven Lampinen mostly responsible for negligence and substandard treatment in the 2007 death of Elisa Sanchez.

Brian Bishop, a nurse at Lampinen’s Las Vegas family practice, was also held responsible.

Attorneys for Sanchez’s husband and 5-year-old daughter, who now live in New Mexico, alleged the woman’s colon and rectal cancer was repeatedly misdiagnosed as hemorrhoids.

Jurors awarded more than $2 million to Sanchez’s survivors for economic losses for future lost wages. Sanchez worked in retail.

Was this article valuable?

Here are more articles you may enjoy.