Susan Murphy Prevails in Medical Malpractice Trial

Susan Donnelly Murphy obtained a defense verdict on behalf of their primary care physician client on November 22, 2022 after a seven day trial at Suffolk Superior Court. The estate of the patient alleged that the patient’s primary care doctor failed to timely diagnose his prostate cancer by not ordering an annual PSA screening test, leading to his late diagnosis and death. The defense maintained, and presented expert testimony, that the standard of care required that a doctor inform the patient about the risks and benefits of PSA screening, so that the patient could decide; and on each occasion, the patient declined PSA screening. The defense also presented expert evidence that, due to the patient’s aggressive form of prostate cancer, earlier diagnosis would not have changed the outcome.