On Aug. 29, 2007, plaintiff David DiGregorio, 54, an actor/producer, presented to Dr. Joel Aronowitz, a cosmetic surgeon, for treatment of swelling in the middle finger of his right, dominant hand. Aronowitz went on to treat him for 18 months, operating on DiGregorio’s finger four times, performing extensive debridement and cosmetic surgery. The surgeon also performed an initial partial (or incomplete) biopsy on the middle finger in September 2007. In March 2009, DiGregorio was referred to Dr. Steven Kuschner, a hand surgeon, when his swelling allegedly worsened while he also experienced significant pain in the finger. Kuschner subsequently ordered an MRI and a biopsy, which revealed a large, deeply embedded squamous cell carcinoma in DiGregorio’s right, middle finger. Despite attempts to treat with radiation, DiGregorio ultimately required a partial amputation of his right, middle finger. DiGregorio sued Aronowitz, alleging that the surgeon failed to diagnose the cancer in his right middle finger and that this failure constituted medical malpractice. DiGregorio claimed that during the entire 18 months he treated with Aronowitz, the surgeon never had any tissue from the right, middle finger tested or biopsied, aside from the initial partial biopsy. He also claimed that the initial partial biopsy was improperly performed, as the biopsy only tested the top layers of tissue in the finger. Thus, he alleged that the visible, cancerous lump was never biopsied by Aronowitz. DiGregorio further alleged that had Aronowitz correctly treated him, his cancer, which was determined to be a slow-growing cancer, would have been timely detected and treated with micrographic surgery, and that the amputation would have been avoided. Aronowitz denied liability, and argued that the examinations, treatments and surgeries he performed met the standard of care for a plastic surgeon. He also claimed that the initial biopsy in September 2007 was performed properly., DiGregorio was diagnosed with a large, deeply embedded squamous cell carcinoma in his right, middle finger. He subsequently underwent approximately 30 radiation treatments to stave off amputation of his finger, but the cancer remained. Thus, on Oct. 9, 2009, DiGregorio underwent a partial amputation of his right, middle finger. DiGregorio claimed that he was deeply affected by the events involving his right, middle finger. He claimed the surgeries performed by Aronowitz were extremely painful, provided no relief, and affected his day-to-day life, job prospects and interaction with his children. He further claimed the radiations, anticipation of the amputation and the amputation itself were all extremely agonizing. The plaintiff’s dermatopathology expert opined that as a result of the cancer going undetected, and because of the size, depth and perineural involvement of the cancer, there was a reasonable medical probability that DiGregorio will suffer metastasis and die prematurely. The plaintiff’s medical experts testified that there was an 80- to 90-percent chance of recurrence of cancer. Plaintiff’s counsel added that DiGregorio’s future treatment and premature demise would be emotionally overwhelming for his family. Thus, plaintiff’s counsel contended that DiGregorio’s past medical costs were in excess of $60,000. Counsel also asked the jury to award DiGregorio damages in excess of $300,000 for his future medical costs and in excess of $500,000 for future loss of earning capacity based on a shortened life span from the risk of recurrence of cancer. The defense’s experts opined that there was only a small, 1-percent chance of DiGregorio’s cancer recurring. The experts also testified that there were no future medical expenses, as well as no future lost earnings, based on DiGregorio’s sporadic earnings history as an actor/producer.