A woman's settlement with a hormone replacement therapy drug manufacturer will bar a suit she filed against a doctor who allegedly left a sponge in her during a mastectomy, the state Superior Court has ruled.

A unanimous three-judge panel of the court ruled July 23 in Valincius v. Weiner that the settlement release was broad and barred the claims under the precedent outlined in the 1989 state Supreme Court decision in Buttermore v. Aliquippa, which said that the plain language of a release must be given its full effect.

The agreement's “application is not limited to injuries sustained as a result of Mrs. Valincius' ingestion of HRT drugs. Rather, the release applies to any claims connected to 'the facts, events, and incidents that gave rise to or related in any way to this civil action,'” Judge Anne E. Lazarus said in the memorandum opinion. “This language clearly encompasses Mrs. Valincius' breast cancer and associated complaints and conditions, including the malpractice alleged to have occurred during Mrs. Valincius' partial mastectomy and left axillary dissection surgery in July 2002.”