Matsuyama v. Birnbaum

Birnbaum (defendant) was Matsuyama's physician for four years, aware of his gastric pain and gastric-cancer risk factors, but never ordered testing until Matsuyama developed skin moles and severe stomach pain; even after a positive test for a bacteria linked to gastric cancer, Birnbaum failed to order further diagnostic tests until Matsuyama's symptoms worsened in 1999, by which point tests confirmed a cancerous mass, and he died months later. Matsuyama's estate (plaintiff) sued, and expert testimony established Birnbaum breached the standard of care in diagnosing and treating him, costing him the chance of a curable diagnosis. The jury found Birnbaum negligent and awarded loss-of-chance damages calculated as the percentage of full wrongful-death damages matching Matsuyama's 1995 survival chance (37.5 percent of $875,000), plus pain-and-suffering damages.