Manhattan Cancer Center, Doctor Face Trial Over Patient’s Death

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center lost its bid to end a suit accusing it and a doctor of causing a patient’s death because sufficient evidence exists that their treatment fell below the standard of care, according to a New York federal court.

Expert witnesses for Scott Powers testified, for example, that Constantinos Sofocleous’ decision to perform an ablation procedure to remove two tumors on Erika Zak’s liver was “a 9.9 out of 10 in terms of being poor” judgment, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York said in an opinion filed Thursday.

Powers was Zak’s husband ...