$5.62 Million Verdict After Straub Clinic Failed to Diagnose Oral Cancer for Three Years

In 2008, Jeff Kim, a Hawaiian Airlines flight attendant from Mililani, visited an ear, nose and throat specialist at Straub Clinic & Hospital complaining of mouth pain and worried the cause might be cancer. The physician examined him but did not order an MRI or biopsy, and Kim was reassured that cancer was not present. The tumor in his mouth continued to grow.

Kim's condition went undetected at Straub for three years. By 2011, when a private oral surgeon finally ordered an MRI, the tumor had advanced to stage four and expanded from roughly the size of a lima bean to the size of a fist. At that point, what might have been a limited intervention had become a fight for his life.

Over the month that followed, Kim underwent nine surgeries at hospitals in Hawaii and Seattle. Surgeons removed the primary tumor along with cancerous tissue that had spread. Reconstructive procedures required a bone graft from his leg to rebuild his jaw, chest muscle to repair his mouth, and skin from his abdomen to replace tissue on his cheek. Even after the operations, Kim was left with permanent numbness on one side of his mouth, difficulty chewing, impaired salivary function, and visible facial disfigurement. He returned to work but continued monitoring for recurrence at six-month intervals.

Attorney L. Richard Fried Jr. of Cronin, Fried, Sekiya, Kekina & Fairbanks argued at trial that the diagnostic test capable of detecting the tumor in 2008 was readily available at Straub and simply was not used. The three-year gap between Kim's initial visit and his actual diagnosis formed the core of the malpractice claim.

After deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of $5.62 million in Kim's favor in November 2014. Straub, which is owned by Hawaii Pacific Health, said through a spokeswoman that it disagreed with the verdict and was exploring its options with legal counsel. No publicly reported reduction or remittitur has been identified in available sources.