Defense Verdict

HPM&B recently obtained a defense verdict in New York Supreme Court, Kings County after a jury trial. Plaintiffs alleged that our client, an otolaryngologist, failed to diagnose laryngeal cancer by performing a biopsy on a polypoid lesion on the then 66-year-old patient’s left vocal cord prior to his last treatment with our client. Plaintiffs further alleged that our client failed to inform the patient of a possibility of a malignancy.  Plaintiffs alleged that the patient’s cancer would have not progressed to Stage IV cancer with him requiring a laryngectomy if our client had performed a biopsy on the vocal cord. In closing, plaintiffs’ counsel requested an award of $7 million.   After deliberations, the jury returned a verdict finding no departures on behalf of our client.