Medical malpractice verdict upheld in missing ovary case

In a strange case of a “vanishing” ovary, Pennsylvania Superior Court upheld a $2.4 million medical malpractice award for the family of a woman who died of ovarian cancer. The husband of Sharon Zawatski filed suit against a surgeon and Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center claiming her treatment was negligent because only ovary was removed, allowing the cancer nto return. The Wilkes-Barre area woman died at age 59 in 2008. The doctor and the hospital appealed the verdict in the case saying there was insufficient evidence to support the claim that her left ovary was not removed, noting that it was not found when an autopsy was performed. autopsy. The hospital argued that was evidence that Valenta had, in fact, removed the ovary. But the appeals court said the evidence was sufficient. It noted there was no medical documentation that the ovary had been removed during surgery. An assisting nurse who was required to write down all specimens removed had not noted a left ovary and a pathologist who examined the specimens after surgery testified he had not been not given the left ovary. Learn more about medical malpractice cancer cases./Cancer_lawyer.htm