Anne and William Ward, plaintiffs in the court below, appeal from the grant of summary judgment to William S. Bergen, M.D., and Eagle’s Landing Surgery, P.C., in this medical malpractice case. The Wards contend the trial court erred by construing the evidence against them and misapplying the law when it determined that the cause of action was barred by the two-year statute of limitation. We agree and reverse the grant of summary judgment. Summary judgment should be granted when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. OCGA § 9-11-56 c. Our review of a grant of summary judgment is de novo, and we view the evidence, and all reasonable conclusions and inferences drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. Citation omitted. Walker v. Melton , 227 Ga. App. 149 489 SE2d 63 1997. So viewed, the record shows that Mrs. Ward had a routine mammogram in 1998. The mammogram indicated that there were some abnormalities in one of her breasts, and her physician referred her to Dr. Bergen, who performed a surgical biopsy. The pathology report showed that Mrs. Ward had low-grade, intraductal carcinoma in situ “DCIS”, localized precancerous growths in the milk ducts of the breast. According to Mrs. Ward, however, Dr. Bergen failed to tell her of this diagnosis and, in fact, never said the word “carcinoma” or used the term “DCIS.” Instead, Dr. Bergen informed Mrs. Ward that she had abnormal calcifications in her breast that were benign but might increase her risk of developing breast cancer later in life. Dr. Bergen did not suggest any further treatment, but only recommended that Mrs. Ward get regular mammograms in the future.
Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Ward moved to New York and began seeing a different physician. Mrs. Ward had a mammogram in 1999 which showed the same abnormalities as in the 1998 mammogram. Mrs. Ward told the radiologist that she had had a biopsy and that she had been told the abnormalities were benign. Because there had been no change in the mammograms, the radiologist told Mrs. Ward that her mammogram was “okay.” Another mammogram in 2000 yielded similar results, showing no changes from the two previous mammograms. Based upon Dr. Bergen’s characterization of the abnormalities as benign, Mrs. Ward and her physicians took no additional action to biopsy or treat the abnormalities following the 1999 or 2000 mammograms. According to Mrs. Ward, she did not notice any changes during her regular breast self-examinations from 1998 through August 2002, she did not have any pain or other physical symptoms that indicated a problem was developing in her breast, and her physicians did not detect any different abnormalities during their examinations.
