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Urologist Has No Duty To Conduct Unrelated Preventative Cancer Screening

On June 26, 2019, an appellate court in New York held that a urologist involved in the diagnosis and successful treatment of prostate cancer, had no legal obligation to order or perform an unrelated preventative cancer screening procedure (colonoscopy). Unfortunately, this same patient who survived prostate cancer, subsequently died as a result of colon cancer. The medical malpractice and wrongful death claim was dismissed by Kings County Supreme Court Justice Marsha Steinhardt (and the appellate court agreed) who explained that there was no duty imposed on a urologist to order a colonoscopy on a prostate cancer patient who had no symptoms or complaints which would  give rise to a suspicion of colon cancer. 

The Court noted: "the plaintiff's expert's opinion that the [urologists] should have ordered or referred the decedent for a colonoscopy when he complained of chronic constipation...was insufficient to raise a triable issue of fact, since the expert did not identify chronic constipation as a symptom of colon cancer...." Matthis v Hall, 2019 WL 2607608

Ronald C. Burke, Esq

Trial Attorney with 30+ Years of Experience Attorney Ronald C. Burke, Esq. has more than 30 years of experience and has focused his career on representing clients in cases involving personal injury, medical malpractice and legal malpractice. He is a seasoned trial lawyer and has won many seven-figure settlements and verdicts for his clients over the years, including many case victories listed among the largest in the history of the New York State. He has been featured in the news and is a regular lecturer for the New York County Lawyers Association, as well as having lectured before the New York State Bar Association. Ron is also an attorney with Kelner & Kelner, a New York personal injury law firm. Awards and Accolades Mr. Burke's awards and accolades are many. Among them, he has been included in New York Super Lawyers® each year since 2010, and he has received the highest-possible AV® Rating from Martindale-Hubbell®. Verdict Search, a part of the New York Law Journal, frequently recognizes his notable successes after winning some of the highest settlements and verdicts in past years. He was also featured in their list of the "Top New York Verdicts " and "Top New York Settlements." He is a member of the New York State Bar Association and is licensed to practice law in the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, as well as before the United States Supreme Court. When Attorney Burke is not handling legal malpractice cases, he is highly involved in the local community. He was a member of the Village of Rockville Centre Volunteer Fire Department, has served on the local school board and as Chairman of the local Zoning Board. Learn more about Attorney Burke and how he can skillfully handle your malpractice case by contacting the Law Offices of Ronald C. Burke, Esq. right away to schedule your complimentary case evaluation. Our firm is here to help! Contact a New York Legal Malpractice Attorney Our firm provides each client's case with thorough preparation and aggressive representation, ensuring that you win the best possible results for your case whether it is settled or goes to trial. As a seasoned trial lawyer, Mr. Burke can provide the strong and relentless representation you need to establish negligence in a legal malpractice case and to recover any damages you may have suffered. Our firm can recover compensation for pre-trial and trial malpractice, violations of fee arrangements, loss of income, pain and suffering, and much more. Contact us today!

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