WESTLAKE MAN'S SUIT CLAIMS DOCTOR FAILED TO FIND CANCER IN TIME.

Byline: Don Holland Daily News Staff Writer

A 49-year-old Westlake Village man has filed a medical malpractice suit claiming that Thousand Oaks physician James S. Merrin misdiagnosed a cancerous tumor that is expected to kill him within two years.

In a suit filed last month in Ventura County Superior Court, Steven Johnson says his cancer could have been cured if treated in the early stages. Instead, the suit says, Johnson has been given six months to two years to live because the cancerous tumor that started in his rectum has spread to his liver, pelvis and tailbone.

``There were presenting indicators here that should have alerted Dr. Merrin to the existence of the possibility of a tumor, but the appropriate steps weren't taken to identify it,'' said Johnson's attorney, Scott Norman. ``He just basically was never diagnosed with any sort of tumor. No exam was ever performed.''

But Merrin's attorney, David O'Keefe, said Johnson was treated appropriately and within accepted standards of care.

``I don't believe Dr. Merrin saw anything that suggested a malignancy,'' O'Keefe said. ``I don't have all the information yet, but malignancies like this are frequently not curable by the time you can diagnose them.''

From 1994 to 1997, Norman said, Johnson sought treatment for rectal bleeding, which Merrin attributed to hemorrhoids. When Johnson developed groin pains in late 1997, Merrin referred his patient to a physical therapist.

Those treatments didn't alleviate Johnson's worsening pain, and Merrin made another referral, this time to a neurologist, Norman said. That doctor detected the cancer in March 1998, and Johnson began chemotherapy treatments.

``It's tragic,'' said Norman. ``As a result, their whole life has been turned upside down. His wife has used up all of her vacation time, all of her sick time, every benefit she had in her employment in an effort to care for her husband. Now she's caring for him on a full-time basis since she lost her job.''

Johnson and his wife, Bonnie, who do not have children, are seeking in excess of $500,000.

Because of his client's condition, Norman has asked the court to push the matter to the top of the schedule.

``As with any other type of cancer, it's just horrific,'' Norman said. ``His medical condition fluctuates on a daily basis, and his ability to (testify) in this action will be diminished as time progresses.''