Susanne Edgmon v. United States

MEMORANDUM

Susanne Edgmon and her husband Garrett Edgmon appeal from the district court’s judgment following a bench trial in favor of the government in this medical malpractice action. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we affirm.

After Susanne was diagnosed with and treated for ovarian cancer, the Edgmons brought suit under Alaska law against the government pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2674 . The Edgmons contended that doctors at Kanakanak Hospital (“Kanakanak”) in Dillingham, Alaska,, negligently failed to diagnose Susanne’s ovarian cancer from at least October 2002 until January 2003, when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at a hospital in Anchorage. They claim they incurred various damages as a result of the allegedly late diagnosis. The district court determined that under the applicable Alaska Statute, AS 09.55.540, the Edgmons had the burden to show that Kanakanak’s doctors breached the applicable standard of care and that this breach was the proximate cause of their injuries. Following a bench trial, the district court concluded that the doctors at Kanakanak breached the applicable standard of care by failing to…