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107. Is the radiologist likely to have the punitive damages award vacated on appeal?
In a wrongful death suit against the radiologist based on only the facts set out above, a jury found the radiologist negligent and awarded $3 million in compensatory damages and $21 million in punitive damages.
After another X-ray of the patient's chest, performed one year later, showed advanced lung cancer, the doctor discovered that the radiologist had misinterpreted the patient's earlier X-rays. The patient died within four months of the later X-ray, because by then his cancer had become untreatable.
A doctor ordered chest X-rays for a patient who smoked cigarettes. After the consulting radiologist told the doctor that the X-rays looked normal, the doctor told the patient that he was in good health. In fact, the radiologist had missed signs of cancer on the X-rays that a trained radiologist, acting competently, would have detected.
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A is incorrect. The issue is not the amount of damages, but rather the lack of evidence that demonstrates that the radiologist injured the patient in a willful or wanton manner. Absent evidence of willful or wanton misconduct, punitive damages may not be awarded.
B is incorrect. Punitive damages are not based on the extent of the plaintiff's injuries and may only be awarded when there is evidence that the defendant willfully or wantonly injured the plaintiff. Because the facts do not prove that the radiologist acted in a willful or wanton manner, the punitive damages award will likely be vacated on appeal.
D is incorrect. The patient's own negligence is irrelevant to the question of whether punitive damages are appropriate. Regardless of the patient's own conduct, punitive damages may be awarded where evidence shows the defendant's willful or wanton misconduct caused injury to the plaintiff. No such evidence is present in the facts; thus, the punitive damages award is improper and will likely be vacated.