Family gets $5.7M in suit against doctor, UPMC

An Allegheny County jury awarded a $5.7 million civil verdict to the family of a Squirrel Hill woman whose UPMC doctor failed to properly treat her for liver cancer, her lawyer said Friday.

The jury found UPMC Dr. Mounzer Agha acted negligently in his treatment of Ellen Kander, who died in her home June 5, 2012, at 52.

“This was a tragic set of circumstances,” said Harry S. Cohen, who represented Kander's estate on behalf of her husband, Gregg Kander, and their three children. “She was a remarkable woman.”

A UPMC spokeswoman said that the health system would appeal.

“We extend our deep sympathy to the Kander family,” UPMC spokeswoman Gloria Kreps said in an emailed statement. “We do though respectfully disagree with both the verdict and damages, and we will file a motion asking the court to overturn the verdict.”

Doctors at UPMC found a lesion on Kander's liver in March 2005, according to the civil complaint filed in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in August 2013.

Following continued treatment, Dr. Agha recommended “watchful waiting” during a visit in 2008. Kander saw him at least three times until May 3, 2011, when a CT scan at another hospital revealed she had an enlarged liver lesion, according to the complaint.

The lawyer and co-founder of Steeltown Entertainment Project, which helps bring film projects to Pittsburgh, died 13 months later.

“No amount of money is enough,” Cohen said.

Adam Brandolph is a staff writer for Trib Total Media.