Medical center fails to give patient's positive cancer test to specialist for 13 months, leading disease to reach Stage 4

St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart, Indiana (Powers Health).

An Indiana couple facing a lifetime of medical expenses after a hospital failed to provide blood test results revealing the presence of cancer have won a multimillion dollar verdict against the medical center behind the damaging delay.

George “Tim” Yaros was 63 years old when he sought medical care and evaluation from St. Mary Medical Center in Valparaiso in September and October 2017, including a blood test on Oct. 4 of that year. According to Yaros’ medical malpractice lawsuit, the test showed that Yaros had a localized form of cancer — but that information wasn’t delivered to the specialist who ordered the blood work, lawyers say.

His cancer was discovered more than a year later during a visit to the emergency room.

Yaros and his wife, LaVonne Yaros, sued in March 2019, and last week, a jury sided with the couple and ordered St. Mary Medical Center to pay almost $26 million.

“We, the Jury, find for the plaintiff, George Yaros and against the defendant St. Mary Medical Center, Inc. and decide that the total amount of damages the plaintiff, George Yaros, is entitled to recover is $21,800,000.00,” the Aug. 22 verdict form read. The jury separately awarded LaVonne Yaros $4 million.

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Yaros’ cancer wasn’t discovered under 13 months after his October 2017 blood test, and lawyers for the Yaroses said that by that time, the cancer had reached Stage 4, spreading to his spine and kidneys, according to The Chicago Tribune. Yaros, now 70, will need dialysis and lifetime care as a result, lawyers said.

“Tim didn’t realize until a year later that when he showed up at the ER, he had stage four cancer that he was even that ill,” attorney Kenneth J. Allen told Chicago news station WGN . “In fact, now he’s relegated to a life of kidney dialysis, his organs failed, and it was all as a result of St. Mary Medical Center.”

Allen told Law&Crime that “at it’s core, this case is about patient safety and making sure health care providers do what they should do.”

The Yaroses have been married for over 40 years, Allen noted, and although dealing with George Yaros’ cancer has been a struggle, “they’ve had a good life together.”

“Their biggest concern was to prevent this from happening to another person, perhaps a younger person, and imposing on a younger family the hardship that they have both endured for the last five years,” Allen said.

Representatives for St. Mary Medical Center did not immediately respond to Law&Crime’s request for comment.

This story has been updated with comments from the family’s attorney.

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