07/31/2010

A Lawsuit Lesson on Sovereign Immunity

breast cancer surgery in 18. centuryImage via Wikipedia

The lawsuit Malveaux v. UTMB shows just how hard it is to pierce the shield of sovereign immunity and just how ready government entities like UTMB are to raise that shield. This decision looks a little twisted to me, but the plaintiff has to live with this recent decision anyway.

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In 2003, as treatment for breast cancer, Cynthia Malveaux underwent a lumpectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. When she sought breast-reduction surgery in 2006, physicians told Mrs. Malveaux that the radiation rendered the tissue in her right breast inoperable. But Dr. Lisa Gould, a surgeon at UTMB, disagreed and maintained that she could operate on the irradiated tissue. On July 19, 2006, Dr. Gould performed a bilateral reduction mammoplasty on Mrs. Malveaux at UTMB. After the surgery, Mrs. Malveaux's right breast failed to heal, and she suffered extensive ulceration and fat necrosis. As a result, Mrs. Malveaux has undergone numerous procedures, including an unsuccessful skin graft and a total mastectomy of her right breast.


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Jul 31, 2010 10:30:12 AM | Lawsuits, UTMB

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