The court has ordered Amico Saúde to pay R$ 200,000 ($ 40,000) for moral damages and R$ 17,900 ($ 5,000) for material damages to a patient who underwent treatment for a bone metastasis that never existed for six years.
The 9th Private Law Chamber of the São Paulo State Court of Justice analyzed Amico's appeal in December, but the case dates back to June 2010 when the patient discovered a lump in her right breast.
The tumor was malignant, and in October of the same year, she underwent a mastectomy. After surgery, she began treatment with chemotherapy, immunotherapy with trastuzumab, and hormone therapy with anastrozole. This protocol lasted until 2012 when it was modified due to the supposed bone metastasis.
The oncologist changed the treatment to fulvestrant associated with trastuzumab and zoledronic acid, and the patient continued with the regimen until doctors from her new health plan discovered the error. Two PET Scan exams showed that there was never any bone metastasis. The forensic examination conducted for the legal action also found no evidence of the disease.