A grave error at Calvary Hospital saw a mother's curable tumour go untreated, allowing the spread of a now terminal liver cancer expected to kill her within months.
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The bleak prognosis for Rachael Anne Netting – a mother of two sons, aged three and six – could allegedly have been avoided, but for a glaring oversight that saw recommendations for a potentially life saving CT scan go unheeded.
The first sign of trouble for Mrs Netting, 37, came in January last year, according to court documents filed by her lawyers at Bradley Allen Love earlier this month.
She began suffering severe abdominal pain, and went to Calvary Hospital for treatment.
Two ultrasounds were conducted; one detecting a mass in her liver, the other an ovarian cyst.
The exact nature of the liver mass could not be determined, and the formal ultrasound report recommended a multiphase CT scan to investigate further.
Yet, tragically, no CT scan ever occurred.
Instead, Mrs Netting was discharged following the removal of her ovarian cyst.
She left the hospital oblivious to the mass in her liver, and was allegedly never told of the recommendation for a CT scan.
The cancer, at that stage said to be curable, went untreated.
The Calvary team caring for her had never looked at the report of her abdomen ultrasound, which urged for further investigation of the liver mass.
The hospital also allegedly failed to send the ultrasound report to her general practitioner.
More than a year later, Mrs Netting returned to Calvary Hospital, again complaining of sudden and severe pain in her abdomen.
Another ultrasound revealed the mass had grown significantly and, after a CT scan and blood tests, she was taken to Canberra Hospital.
It was too late.
She was diagnosed with an incurable metastatic liver cancer.
Mrs Netting was given a prognosis of less than three to six months to live and is undergoing chemotherapy.
Now, represented by lawyer Bill McCarthy, Mrs Netting has launched a major negligence case against Calvary Health Care ACT Limited.
The case appeared in the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday, when her lawyers pushed for an expedited hearing, given her short life expectancy.
The court heard Calvary has admitted it breached its duty of care to Mrs Netting, something Justice Richard Refshauge commended as a "very proper" approach to take.
But they may contest the causation, that is whether their failure caused the incurable cancer, an issue they described as "quite complex".
The hospital, represented by the ACT Government Solicitor, may also argue about the quantum of any payout.
Mrs Netting's barrister David Hirsch told the court the patient would likely have been cured if treated in January, prompting Justice Refshauge to respond: "What a horrible thing for her to learn."
The court is now looking at the case with urgency.
A mediation is set down for early December, and Justice Refshauge urged the parties to do whatever they can to resolve the matter there.
If that fails, a hearing is likely to take place on December 10.
Mr Hirsch said there was clear evidence the tumour was treatable when Mrs Netting first presented.
"This was not a malignant tumour early on ... it became a malignant tumour," he said.
He also described the direction of Mrs Netting's initial ultrasound report as clear and unambiguous: "'Thou shalt investigate'," he said.
"It wasn't done, and that has been accepted."
On Mrs Netting's second visit to Calvary in April, the hospital staff noted: "Patient unaware of previous USS [ultrasound scan] findings. Nil f/u [follow-up] scans."
Calvary is yet to file its response to the claims, saying it needs time to gather evidence to properly defend the case.
It agreed to the need for an expedited hearing.
