A woman in the U.S. filed a lawsuit after a hysterectomy due to an alleged laboratory error
Cassandra Barksdale, 43, from the Atlanta area, has filed a lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente. She claims that due to the mislabeling of a lab sample, she was misdiagnosed with cancer and underwent an unnecessary total hysterectomy. Fortune reports this, citing the Associated Press.
According to the lawsuit, in early 2025, Barksdale went to the Kaiser Permanente Southwood Medical Center in Jonesboro, Georgia, due to heavy bleeding and uterine fibroids—noncancerous growths in or around the uterus. She underwent a biopsy on March 10, 2025, and received the results on March 17.
The plaintiff alleges that a tissue sample from another patient was mistakenly labeled as her own. According to the complaint, Barksdale subsequently believed she had an aggressive form of endometrial cancer. On May 15, 2025, she underwent a total hysterectomy and was told she would receive further instructions regarding chemotherapy.
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In September, DNA analysis determined that the sample showing signs of an aggressive form of endometrial cancer belonged to another patient, not Barksdale, the lawsuit states. Her attorney, Shannon Young, stated that the patient sought help from Kaiser Permanente but received a diagnosis that did not apply to her, and subsequent decisions were based on false information.
According to Barksdale, for several months she and her sons lived under the belief that she had cancer, which caused them to suffer from severe depression. She also said that she discussed plans for her own funeral with her sons.
Kaiser Permanente stated that Barksdale should not have had to go through this experience. Representatives of the organization reported that, following the incident, they took immediate steps to prevent a similar mistake from recurring and are prepared to resolve the situation fairly and responsibly with the patient and her attorney. The lawsuit seeks damages, the amount of which has not been specified.
