CT Scan Missed Early Cancer, Family Says Patient Died 18 Months Later

Ronen, a 71-year-old shuttle driver, went for medical testing after a kidney finding and was sent for an abdominal and pelvic CT scan. According to the lawsuit, the radiologist who read the scan at Assuta Ashdod declared that the pancreas was normal, and Ronen was sent home believing he was healthy.

The family says that a pancreatic tumor was already visible on that first scan, but was not reported. For about one year and five months, the cancer allegedly advanced unnoticed. When Ronen later developed severe jaundice and intense abdominal pain, he underwent a PET-CT scan, which revealed advanced pancreatic cancer with extensive metastases to the liver and the abdominal cavity. He died seven months later in severe suffering.

The lawsuit was filed by his widow, through attorney Moran Avrahami Yom Tov, against Assuta Ashdod, where the imaging study was performed. The claim says a review of the original CT shows the tumor was clearly present, and that the scan covered the upper abdomen, so the reader was required to assess the pancreas, liver and spleen as well. A radiologist for the plaintiffs said an abnormal process was already visible in the pancreatic neck during the first imaging study, and that ignoring it was a serious breach of accepted practice.

An oncology expert attached to the filing said that if the tumor had been found on time, it would have been very small, about 9 millimeters, with no metastases, and could have been fully removed. In that scenario, he said, the chance of surviving at least five years would have been 55% to 70%, with a roughly 50% chance of complete cure. The family is seeking 2.5 million shekels for shortened life, pain and suffering, and lost earnings. Assuta Ashdod said it had not yet received the statement of claim and would respond after it does.