Monica Melendez has filed a lawsuit against Amy Lu, M.D., in the Circuit Court for the Sixth Judicial Circuit in Pinellas County, Florida. The case, bearing the number 24-001324-CI, was filed on March 22, 2024. The plaintiff alleges negligence by the defendant resulting in severe medical complications.
Melendez's counsel states that she underwent a colon resection surgery performed by Dr. Lu at HCA Florida Largo Hospital on November 5, 2021. Despite this procedure intended to remove her colon cancer, a subsequent pathology report found no traces of cancer in the excised tissue. This crucial information was allegedly not communicated to Melendez during multiple post-operative consultations with Dr. Lu.
On May 24, 2022, a colonoscopy revealed that the colon cancer supposed to have been removed during the previous surgery was still present. As a result, Melendez had to undergo another surgery on June 8, 2022, which led to further treatments including port placement and multiple rounds of chemotherapy due to metastasis of her cancer.
The plaintiff is seeking damages exceeding $50,000 exclusive of interest and costs for alleged negligence by Dr. Lu. The lawsuit accuses Dr. Lu of failing to adequately identify and remove the area of colon cancer during surgery and not communicating this critical information post-operatively.