Policeman files lawsuit against doctors over delayed cancer diagnosis
The policeman, who said he is now fighting for his life, is also expected to take a case against the hospital and the state.
The officer wants those involved to be charged with grievous bodily harm.
The policeman’s ordeal began on 11 December 2022. “He felt abdominal pain. He was on duty, the pain persisted, despite the painkillers he had taken. He went to the hospital,” his lawyer, Artemis Dialyna, told Kathimerini.
“There, after tests, they told him that he had acute appendicitis and needed an operation. Indeed, he had an operation. In fact, the operating room record says that his appendix was removed and it would be sent for a histopathological examination.”
A year later, on December 19, 2023, he received a phone call from a doctor at the hospital, who invited him in for a meeting the following day. There, the doctor informed him that the biopsy showed that he had cancer.
When he enquired why the biopsy took so long, the doctor replied that it was because it was considered to be non-dangerous, the lawyer said.
The policeman was told that he would have to undergo surgery again. After that operation in January 2024, he then decided to attend a private clinic for a third surgery.
“The doctor at the private clinic told him that, while he did everything he could, ‘the condition is not amenable to surgery’,” the lawyer said, adding that her client is now undergoing chemotherapy.
“I am fighting for my life,” the 55 year old man told reporters at the courthouse earlier, before filing the indictment.
Kathimerini
