Failure to Diagnose Skin Cancer/$5.8 Million Verdict in Wrongful Death Case
On Friday, November 14, 2008, after deliberating for approximately six hours following five days of testimony, a Rockville, Maryland, jury found Dr. Michael Albert, formerly with the dermatology practice of Norman A. Lockshin, M.D., P.A., liable for attorney Richard Semsker’s death from malignant melanoma and awarded damages to the patient’s family in the amount of $5.8 million. Melanoma is a cancer of the cells that produce melanin, the pigment that colors the skin. According to the American Cancer Society, about 62,000 Americans are diagnosed each year with melanoma and about 8,000 die from the disease.
The Semsker family was represented by Norfolk attorney, Jonathan L. Thornton, Esq., of the law firm Pierce & Thornton, PLC, and Patrick A. Malone, Esq., of Patrick Malone & Associates, in Washington, D.C.
“This was a tragic story about a good man and a responsible patient who was dropped through the cracks by his physicians. He could have been saved at any point during a six year period, but there was a total breakdown in communication between his physicians,” stated the Semskers’ attorney, Jonathan Thornton.
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