Connecticut and Legal Media Reports on $49 Million Verdict for Darien Woman Whose Cervical Cancer Went Undetected

April 17, 2026

The Stamford Advocate, Hartford Courant, Law360, and the Connecticut Law Tribune covered Silver Golub & Teitell's $49 million jury verdict on April 9 for a Darien woman whose gynecologist repeatedly failed to follow standard protocols for monitoring high-risk HPV, allowing cervical cancer to progress to a late-stage, terminal disease. SGT partners Peter Dreyer and Sarah Russell represented the plaintiffs at trial.

Speaking to the Stamford Advocate, Dreyer underscored what the case represented for the plaintiff, Jennifer Anderson, and her family. "It went from completely curable as a precancerous lesion to a terminal disease," Dreyer said. "It's a tragedy. There's no other way to say it."

Anderson was a patient of Dr. Dzwinka Carroll, an obstetrician/gynecologist employed by Westmed Medical Group, from at least 2013 through 2019. Over multiple annual visits, she repeatedly tested positive for high-risk strains of HPV, including HPV 16, a genotype known to place patients at significantly elevated risk for cervical cancer. Despite those results, Carroll never performed a colposcopy, the standard follow-up procedure required under the applicable standard of care. By the time Anderson presented with symptoms in September 2019, invasive squamous cell carcinoma had already spread to her chest, abdomen, and pelvis.

Law360 reported on the additional claims at trial, including allegations that when Westmed absorbed Carroll's prior practice in 2015, it deleted patient records during the transition to a new electronic system in violation of record retention laws and failed to properly train staff on the new system.

After a five-week trial before Judge Yamini Menon in Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, the jury deliberated for three hours before finding the defendants negligent and awarding $39 million to Ms. Anderson and $10 million to her husband Daniel Anderson on his loss of consortium claim.

"Our clients have been through a lot to get to this point but they're very pleased with the jury validating what they've been saying and vindicating them," Dreyer told the Stamford Advocate. "It's been a long road. It's been a lot of years to get to here."

Dreyer and Russell were also recognized in Litigation Daily's Litigator of the Week column for the verdict.

Stamford Advocate: Jury Awards $49M to Darien Woman Whose Doctor Missed Likely Fatal Cancer

Hartford Courant: Jury Awards $49 Million to State Woman in Medical Case Involving Cancer

Law360: Medical Practice Hit With $49M Verdict Over Missed Cancer

Connecticut Law Tribune: Stamford Jury Awards Darien Woman $49M in Medical-Malpractice HPV Suit

Litigation Daily: Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout-Outs