Georgia woman had unnecessary hysterectomy after lab mix-up and cancer misdiagnosis, lawsuit says

Cassandra Barksdale alleges Kaiser Permanente mishandled a tissue sample after she sought help with abnormal bleeding, leading to the removal of her uterus and ovaries.

An Atlanta-area woman alleges that negligent handling of a tissue sample led to her being misdiagnosed with an aggressive form of uterine cancer and undergoing a full hysterectomy when she was 43.

Cassandra Barksdale was forced into premature menopause after doctors removed her cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries last year, according to a lawsuit filed in Clayton County, Georgia.

The lawsuit names Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Kaiser Permanente Insurance Co. as defendants, in addition to lab technicians believed to have handled Barksdale’s sample.

She went to her doctor at a Kaiser Permanente center in January 2025 with concerns about abnormal uterine bleeding and uterine fibroids, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says she was referred for a consultation and had an endometrial tissue biopsy in March 2025. That tissue was submitted to an outside lab, Quest Diagnostics, for pathology.