Hyogo Prefecture Admits Missed Lung Cancer at Harima Himeji Hospital With ¥8.91 Million Payout

Overview

• Hyogo Prefecture announced Monday that a missed lung cancer finding at Harima Himeji General Medical Center’s predecessor was a medical accident.
• The prefecture will pay the bereaved family ¥8,911,000 as compensation for treatment delays caused by the oversight.
• CT scans in January and March 2022 showed a growing lung nodule, and radiologists documented a suspected cancer, but the treating doctors did not review the reports.
• The patient was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer during an emergency admission in May 2023 and died at home in August 2024.
• In response, the center introduced an “important finding” checkbox in its CT report read-confirmation system, and leaders apologized and pledged broader safety measures.