Brennan Burtker LLC congratulates Partner Vito Masciopinto and Associate Thomas Conlon on securing a successful defense verdict on April 2, 2025, on behalf of a head and neck surgeon in a medical malpractice trial.  The care and treatment in this case occurred 10 years ago, in 2015.  The male patient presented with a neck mass and risk factors for HPV oropharyngeal cancer.  The defendant surgeon instituted extensive testing, including a fine needle aspiration, a CT scan, and a PET scan in an attempt to determine if the mass was malignant.   After the testing was inconclusive, the surgeon proceeded to perform a neck dissection with removal of the mass and surrounding lymph nodes to reach a definitive diagnosis of the lesion.  The lesion, which was found to be on the vagal nerve, was determined to be a benign schwannoma.  The Plaintiff alleged that the physician performed an unnecessary surgery and claimed additional imaging would have determined the mass was benign, thus not requiring intervention. Plaintiff claimed that, as a result of the surgery, he suffered left upper extremity weakness, facial paralysis, tongue and vocal cord paralysis, as well as emotional distress.  The Plaintiff asked for $3.9 million from a Cook County Jury for pain and suffering, disfigurement/disability, and mental health damages.  The defense argued that despite preoperative testing, the patient’s high risk for HPV oropharyngeal cancer, the fact that he had a growing mass, and the inability to determine preoperatively whether the mass was malignant indicated the standard of care required surgical intervention.  The case was tried over 2 weeks before Judge Patrick J. Henegan.