Washington: A man from Montana, who thought that he would be dead within six months after being incorrectly diagnosed with brain cancer, has been awarded 59,820 dollars for the grief and stress it caused him and his family.
The case began on Jan. 28, 2009, when Mark reached at the Fort Harrison VA Medical Center complaining about acute chest pain.
Mark had a stent inserted and seemed to be recovering well, however, a week later he developed problems with his memory, vision and speech, and started having headaches.
A CT scan showed brain abnormalities, which Dr. Patrick Morrow, an internist at VA, discussed with a neuroradiologist, who told him that Mark could be suffering from a variety of diagnoses, including a brain tumour or a stroke.
Mark sold his truck, quit his job and his family held a last birthday dinner from him and he arranged and paid for his funeral service, his son-in-law made a wooden box for his ashes.
In July, he underwent additional testing at Fort Harrison, and this time a doctor told him that the CT scan showed multiple small strokes, but no brain cancer an MRI in December 2009 confirmed that he had a stroke, not brain cancer that caused his symptoms earlier in the year, Independent Record reported.
US District Court Judge Donald Molloy also ordered the VA to repay Mark for the cost of his last birthday celebration and for the prearranged funeral service.
ANI
