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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA, (AP) – A jury has sentenced the insurance company Aetna to pay more than $ 25 million to the family of a woman from Oklahoma City, who died on Monday. last year after the insurer refused to cover a type of radiation therapy.
The jurors determined that Aetna's doctors had not taken enough time to examine the case of Orrana Cunningham before denying her the coverage of a proton beam treatment in 2014 , reported the Oklahoman newspaper. The jury failed in that Aetna negligently neglected its obligation to enter into an agreement in good faith with Cunningham, who was suffering from nasopharyngeal cancer.
Defense
Aetna discusses the opportunity to appeal Monday's ruling, and the company's lawyer, John Shely, said the insurer was trying to do the right thing.
"It's in our hands to change, that's what we'll do," said Shely. "Aetna learned something from that."
A doctor from Aetna refused to Cunningham the coverage of the therapy in 2014, considering it experimental. Two other doctors in the company reviewed the decision and ratified it.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved proton beam therapy, which is also a Medicare-covered treatment, according to family lawyer Doug Terry. Terry alleged that Aetna had refused coverage for economic reasons and that her doctors were unqualified, had been subjected to excessive workload and were predisposed when making their decisions.
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