Frank Diplacido vs UPMC et al

Case Background

On February 21, 2020, Plaintiff Frank Diplacido filed a medical malpractice lawsuit in the Pennsylvania State, Court of Common Pleas, Allegheny County, Civil Division(Case number: GD-20-002851 ). This case was assigned to Judge Klein Arnold I.

Cause

Frank DiPlacido, acting individually and as Executor of the Estate of his late wife, Marianne DiPlacido, filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside, UPMC, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute Cancer Services, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, and several physicians. He alleged that their negligence led to an unnecessary and ultimately fatal medical procedure. Marianne DiPlacido initially sought medical attention after her primary care physician detected an enlarged liver. In January 2018, doctors admitted her to Allegheny General Hospital for further evaluation. Physicians performed a biopsy and diagnosed her with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the liver. They recommended chemotherapy as the appropriate treatment. Seeking a second opinion, she and her husband turned to UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Dr. Nathan Bahary and Dr. Allan Tsung took over her care and ordered additional tests. They also decided to re-evaluate the original biopsy samples from Allegheny General Hospital before determining a treatment plan. However, despite the pending pathology review, they scheduled a second liver biopsy at UPMC Presbyterian on February 26, 2018. This decision violated standard medical protocols and exposed her to unnecessary surgical risks. By February 23, 2018, UPMC’s pathologists had already confirmed that the original biopsy results were correct. Despite this, Dr. Bahary and Dr. Tsung failed to review the pathology department’s findings before proceeding with another invasive procedure. Dr. Ka-Kei Ngan and Dr. Chris Gu, intervention