A woman who was incorrectly diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent unnecessary surgery and chemotherapy is suing the hospitals that allegedly misdiagnosed her.
"I suffered serious health and emotional damage, needlessly," said the plaintiff.
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The woman was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 after a biopsy of a growth in her breast came back as positive. The biopsy was tested at both Elisha Hospital in northern Israel and the Carmel Medical Center in Haifa.
Following the false positives, the plaintiff underwent six months of chemotherapy, which were followed by surgery to remove the growth, which entailed a partial mastectomy.
However, according to the lawsuit, only after the growth removed from her breast and biopsied again did she learn that it had been benign.
The plaintiff says that her course of chemotherapy caused her peripheral neuropathy; a tremor in her hands; weakness; harmed her memory and; made her depressed. She has filed suit against Elisha Hospital, the Carmel Medical Center, and Clalit Health Services for alleged medical negligence.
"The difficult treatments were unnecessary in light of the actual diagnosis, and were given as a direct result of a missed diagnosis at two different, critical, opportunities," the lawsuit alleges.
The suit also alleges that the two, separate, medical committees that convened on the patient's case did not include a pathologist, which is in violation of standard procedures.
The lawsuit rests on findings by an independent pathologist hired by the plaintiff, who said that both hospitals had misdiagnosed the woman's growth as cancerous, and should have identified it as benign.
The Carmel Medical Center said in response to the report that "This is a legal inquiry, and the hospital will only respond within that framework."
Elisha Hospital did not respond to requests for comment.
