Cassandra Barksdale speaks to reporters about her lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente (WXIA).
A woman in Georgia claims a series of negligent mistakes led to her being falsely diagnosed with an aggressive form of uterine cancer and undergoing an unnecessary hysterectomy — only to learn months later that the biopsy doctors relied on belonged to someone else.Cassandra Barksdale filed a negligence lawsuit this week in Clayton County against healthcare organization Kaiser Permanente, a senior laboratory information analyst, and five unknown agents or employees of the organization, alleging a specimen mix-up caused her to undergo unnecessary surgery to remove her uterus, cervix, ovaries, fallopian tubes and four lymph nodes before she was informed she never had cancer.
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According to the complaint, Barksdale first sought treatment at Kaiser Permanente’s Southwood Medical Center in January 2025 for abnormal uterine bleeding and uterine fibroids. She underwent an endometrial biopsy on March 10, 2025.
Barksdale alleges that the employees responsible for handling the tissue specimen failed to properly identify, label and track it before sending it to Quest Diagnostics for analysis. As a result, another patient’s tissue sample was mistakenly attributed to Barksdale.
Two days later, pathology results allegedly indicated that Barksdale had “high grade endometrial uterine carcinoma with serous features.” On March 17, she received a phone call informing her she had a “high-grade, aggressive” form of uterine cancer and would need additional imaging to determine the extent of the disease, the suit states.
Although a CT scan performed days later showed no evidence of cancer, Barksdale was referred to a gynecologic oncologist in Atlanta, the lawsuit alleges. No additional tests were performed before doctors allegedly “recommended a total hysterectomy.”
Relying on the cancer diagnosis and her physicians’ recommendations, Barksdale underwent surgery on May 15, 2025, during which her uterus, cervix, ovaries, fallopian tubes and four lymph nodes were removed and sent to a lab for a pathological analysis. Those tests found “no morphologically malignant cells” in the organs. A subsequent surgical pathology report confirmed “no carcinoma was identified, and no malignancy was seen in the entire endometrial cavity.”
Despite those findings, doctors still allegedly told Barksdale she had cancer and should expect chemotherapy. She says she remained in limbo for months before finally receiving an explanation.
According to the complaint, Kaiser administrators met with Barksdale on Sept. 23, 2025, and informed her that DNA testing established the biopsy showing aggressive cancer was not hers and instead “belongs to a different patient.”
She later received a revised laboratory report instructing her to disregard the original pathology results because the specimen likewise “belongs to a different patient,” the complaint says.
“As a result of the abject negligence of the Defendants, Ms. Barksdale has sustained serious, permanent and irreversible injuries to her person, including but not limited to, surgical menopause, permanent and premature anatomical and physiological changes, severe mental pain, emotional distress, post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression, fear of future medical treatment, medical distrust, loss of bodily integrity and autonomy, embarrassment, humiliation, and diminished quality and enjoyment of life,” the complaint states.
The defendants are also accused of negligently failing to maintain proper chain of custody of Barksdale’s test materials, incorrectly labeling another patient’s tissue as Barksdale’s, and failing to follow laboratory protocols designed to prevent specimen misidentification.
During a news conference announcing the lawsuit, Barksdale said the diagnosis devastated her and her family.
“I had to contact my kids to let them know that I have five years to live and that I’m going to die because I have aggressive cancer,” she told Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA. “My sons went into a deep depression. It took a big hold over my family.”
She also said she struggled with severe depression and suicidal thoughts after believing she was dying.
Her attorney, Roderick Edmond, said the litigation is intended to determine how such an error could have happened.
“We’ve got computers, we’ve got science, we’ve got AI, how the h— did this happen?” Edmond said.
Edmond also said discovery could reveal whether another patient may have been affected by the alleged specimen mix-up.
Kaiser acknowledged the mistake in a statement provided to multiple news outlets.
“Our most important responsibility is to safely, expertly and compassionately care for the people who entrust us with their health. If we make a mistake, it can have profound effects,” the company said. “Ms. Barksdale should not have experienced this.”
Barksdale is seeking unspecified damages, a jury trial, attorney’s fees and other relief. The allegations in the lawsuit have not yet been tested in court.
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