A New Brunswick woman has won a negligence lawsuit against a Newfoundland hospital and two pathologists after being told a mole she had removed was benign, only to find out six years later she had life-threatening skin cancer.
Pamela Lodge, of Hampton, had a mole removed in 1995 at Western Memorial Regional Hospital in Corner Brook, N.L., where she was living at the time.
She had had the mole on her buttocks since she was born, but it had started itching and occasionally bled, according to the New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench documents.
The mole was removed and Lodge was told it had been harmless, based on a pathology report by Dr. Abdul Rashid.
Eight months later, the scar was tender and Lodge noticed some discoloration, according to the documents.
“(Dr. Abdul Rashid) owed a duty to Ms. Lodge to conduct further investigation, obtain a second opinion, or send the slide out for a consult from a dermatopathologist.’—Justice William Grant, New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench
She went back to her doctor and had more tissue removed in 1996. Once again she was told there was nothing to worry about and there was no need for further treatment, based this time on a pathology report by Dr. Paul Neil, who was also employed at Western Memorial Regional Hospital.
Lodge moved to Fredericton in 2000 and the following year told her new family doctor that the scar had turned dark blue.
She had another surgery at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton and was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, a life-threatening form of skin cancer.
Her plastic surgeon said the cancer had already spread and her prognosis wasn’t good.
A Fredericton-based oncologist told her most patients in her situation face a life expectancy of one to two years, court documents show.