HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- A sixth woman has filed a lawsuit against Dr. Michael Bigg and the Allison Breast Center for allegedly misreading her mammograms and delaying the treatment of her breast cancer for two years.
Sonja Wowk, 63, from North Chesterfield, had mammograms done at the Allison Breast Center in January 2018 and January 2019 and each time Bigg told her the results were negative and to come back in a year, according to the court filing in Henrico Circuit Court.
However, according to the lawsuit filed by Breit Cantor Grana Buckner, PLLC, Wowk, who is a 3rd grade teacher at Alberta Smith Elementary School, had a mass in her right breast indicative of breast cancer.
Finally, on her January 2020 visit, Bigg recommended a biopsy, and Wowk was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.
In July 2020, Wowk underwent a double mastectomy.
The lawsuit alleges Bigg's "failure to timely diagnose Ms. Wowk's breast cancer on January 3, 2018, during their ongoing and continued care, caused Ms. Wowk to lose the opportunity to receive more conservative treatment for her breast cancer in its early stages when the rate of curability and survivability was higher."
The Virginia Board of Medicine suspended Bigg's license in May after finding 18 patients had their mammograms misread by Bigg.
Wowk is not one of those patients. She is one of three women who have filed lawsuits against Bigg and the Allison Breast Center, who were not listed in the board's report.
