Woman Undergoes Hysterectomy After Mistaken Cancer Diagnosis
WHO:
ABC News - Cassandra Barksdale, a 43-year-old woman from Georgia, and her attorneys.
AP News - Kaiser Permanente, the healthcare organization being sued.
WHAT:
ABC News - Barksdale alleges she was wrongly diagnosed with aggressive cancer due to a labeling error and underwent an unneeded hysterectomy.
AP News - Barksdale underwent a full hysterectomy on May 15, 2025, and was told she would receive instructions about chemotherapy.
ABC News - The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for the physical and emotional pain caused by the misdiagnosis.
WHERE:
ABC News - The incident occurred at Kaiser Permanente Southwood Medical Center in Jonesboro, Georgia.
WHEN:
ABC News - Barksdale underwent a biopsy on March 10, 2025, and received the biopsy results on March 17, 2025.
AP News - Barksdale was informed in September that the tissue sample belonged to a different patient.
WHY:
ABC News - The misdiagnosis was due to a labeling error where another patient's tissue sample was mistakenly labeled as belonging to Barksdale.
AP News - Barksdale sought treatment for heavy bleeding and fibroids, which are noncancerous growths in and around the uterus.
HOW:
ABC News - Kaiser Permanente stated they have highly trained staff and thorough processes in place to prevent errors like this from occurring.
AP News - Labs have implemented best practices, including barcode systems for specimen labeling and point-of-care testing, to prevent such errors.
(UPDATED August 7, 2026 08:57 UTC)
Cassandra Barksdale, a 43-year-old woman from Georgia, is suing Kaiser Permanente after alleging that a labeling error led to her being wrongly diagnosed with aggressive cancer, resulting in an unnecessary hysterectomy on May 15, 2025. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for the physical and emotional pain caused by this misdiagnosis, which stemmed from a tissue sample that was mistakenly labeled as belonging to Barksdale instead of another patient. Kaiser Permanente has stated that they employ highly trained staff and thorough processes to prevent such errors, including the use of barcode systems for specimen labeling.