Woman killed by cancer after doctor failed spot it for two years… with psychiatrist husband refusing to settle so those to blame would be named and shamed in court

A jury found radiologist Kari Thomas negligent for failing to flag a lung mass visible on Wendi Lui’s scans, ruling that the missed finding contributed to the 51-year-old Oregon woman’s death. The verdict matters to her husband, Gene, who pursued a public court case after rejecting settlement offers that required no admission of fault and silence about the case.

The mass was visible on breast MRI scans in 2018 and had doubled in size by 2019, but it was not flagged as suspicious until 2020, when it was about three centimetres. By then, the cancer had spread to four lymph nodes; Lui’s lawyer said earlier treatment could have meant an 85 to 90 per cent chance of survival. After an 11-day trial, the jury awarded the family $7.8 million.