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Ex-College Basketball Star Sues Norwalk Hospital For Alleged Cancer Treatment Error

A Fairfield County resident known for his skills on the basketball court and in the radio industry is suing a well-known hospital system claiming he is dying from cancer due to receiving the wrong amount of medicine.

A Westport resident has filed suit against Norwalk Hospital claiming he was given the wrong amount of chemotherapy medicine.

A Westport resident has filed suit against Norwalk Hospital claiming he was given the wrong amount of chemotherapy medicine.

Photo Credit: File

Robert “Bob” McCurdy, of Westport,  – a former NCAA Basketball star and successful radio executive -- filed the suit in Stamford Superior Court this week claiming he is dying from anal cancer due to the negligence of Norwalk Hospital when he was given the wrong amount of chemotherapy medicine, his attorneys claim.

The lawsuit, filed by attorney Peter M. Dreyer of Silver Golub & Teitell LLP, asserts McCurdy was given only 25 percent of the dosage he was supposed to receive of the chemotherapy drugs Fluorouracil and Mitomycin.

The suit names the Whittingham Cancer Center at Norwalk Hospital, Western Connecticut Health Network, and Dr. Daniel Boxer.

The lawsuit states that as a result of "this egregious error, which was not caught by multiple nurses, pharmacists, and an oncologist, Mr. McCurdy will now die from cancer instead of being cured."

McCurdy was diagnosed with cancer and received medical treatment at Whittingham, which included intravenous chemotherapy and radiation, the suit said.

In May of 2018, McCurdy should have received the prescribed doses of 5FU for each 24-hour period.

"Unfortunately for Mr. McCurdy, at Whittingham he was only given 25 percent of the prescribed dose of 5FU each day," Dreyer said. 

The suit says as a result of the failure to give the full dose of the chemotherapy drug, McCurdy’s cancer advanced and metastasized, requiring radical surgery as well as additional rounds of chemotherapy, radiation, and immunosuppressive therapy. 

Andrea Rynn, spokesperson for Nuvance Health said that although the system does not comment on active litigation: “Patient safety is the top priority at our hospitals."

Prior to his ongoing battle with cancer, McCurdy worked for 45 years in the radio industry and most recently was Vice President of Corporate Sales at Beasley Media Group.

He is perhaps best known for his time as a college basketball player at the University of Richmond from 1973 to 1975 as an All American and the nation’s leading scorer during his senior season for the Richmond Spiders.

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