Barbara Y. Pschirer vs. Allegheny Health Network et al

Case Background

On February 19, 2020, Plaintiff Barbara Y. Pschirer filed a Medical malpractice lawsuit in the Pennsylvania State, Court of Common Pleas, Allegheny County (Case number: GD-20-002710 ). Judge Michael A. DellaVecchia presided over the case.

Cause

On February 20, 2017, 66-year-old Cheryl Pschirer visited St. Clair Memorial Hospital's Emergency Department, complaining of a fast heartbeat upon waking. Dr. Julia M. D'Alo attended to her, ordered a portable chest x-ray, and discharged her before the results were available, instructing Cheryl to follow up with her primary care physician, Dr. Victoria Dunaevsky. Radiologist Dr. Richard Foster later reviewed the x-ray, identifying a suspicious right suprahilar density, potentially indicating an infiltrate or mass. He recommended a follow-up two-view chest x-ray, but neither Dr. D'Alo nor Dr. Dunaevsky informed Cheryl or ordered further imaging, despite Cheryl's known history of smoking, which increased her risk for lung cancer. During her May 11, 2017 visit with Dr. Dunaevsky, Cheryl's prior visit to the Emergency Department was noted, but the x-ray findings were not addressed. On September 13, 2017, Cheryl experienced acute vision loss in her left eye and sought care at Green Tree Medical Associates. Imaging revealed a large brain lesion and a right upper lobe lung mass. On September 29, 2017, a biopsy confirmed non-small-cell lung adenocarcinoma. By then, the cancer had metastasized to her brain. Oncology initiated palliative chemotherapy, but Cheryl’s condition was advanced. She died on May 29, 2018, about 15 months after her initial x-ray revealed the suspicious lung mass, which went untreated due to failures in communication and follow-up care.

Injuries

As a result of the Defendants' alleged negligence, Cheryl Pschirer suff