Suit: Doctor's failure to diagnose woman's cancer delayed treatment period

A woman is suing over claims a doctor failed to diagnose her cancer.

Kathleen Morgan filed a lawsuit July 10 in the Cook County Circuit Court against The University of Chicago Medical Center and Dr. Ernest Mhoon, alleging medical negligence.

According to the complaint, Morgan went to Mhoon at the University of Chicago Medical Center on Jan. 18, 2012 for a second opinion after another doctor told her he suspected she had a nasopharyngeal mass.

She alleges Mhoon informed her she did not have a mass and did not require an MRI, a diagnosis he reaffirmed in February and March 2012. The suit states Morgan went to an emergency room on July 15, 2012, when the presence of a malignant mass was confirmed.

The suit accuses Mhoon of failing to order an MRI and diagnose Morgan's cancer, something she contends significantly delayed the treatment period and thus, increased the odds of fatality from the cancer.

She is seeking more than $50,000 in damages, plus costs, and is being represented in the case by attorneys Donald A. Shapiro and Matthew R. Basinger of Donald A. Shapiro Ltd. in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2014L007280.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.