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DOCTORED ETHICS

On March 7, a woman from Cambridgeshire, UK, received a US $339,700 compensation in an out-of-court settlement after a surgeon failed to diagnose that she was suffering from breast cancer.

In November 1994, the Cambridgeshire High Court ruled that the doctor had fallen below professional standards in failing to detect the malady. It pointed out that if he had detected the malignant tumour during the first consultation in June 1989, the woman would have stood an 80 per cent chance of a normal lifespan.

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