Seattle Personal Injury Attorney Dan Fiorito Secures $4.5 Million Settlement for Family of Man Who Died from Untreated Cancer in Washington State Prison
May 18, 2026
SEATTLE, WA – May 2026 — Seattle personal injury and medical malpractice attorney Dan Fiorito of Lake Union Law Group PLLC, together with co-counsel Michael Kahrs, has secured a $4.5 million settlement on behalf of the estate of Gordon Crockett, a 69-year-old man who died after the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) failed to timely diagnose and treat his bladder cancer while incarcerated at Stafford Creek Corrections Center.
Mr. Crockett reported symptoms of bladder cancer for nearly two years before prison officials diagnosed the disease — by which point it had spread to his spine. Imaging in October 2022 flagged a suspicious bladder mass, but it took approximately three months to receive a cystoscopy, and he was not formally diagnosed until January 2023. He died on October 10, 2023.
Dan Fiorito stated: "DOC's own mortality review committee admitted that its systems and providers failed catastrophically, turning a curable cancer into a death sentence." The committee identified systemic failures in Mr. Crockett's care — failures that robbed him of the chance to survive his incarceration and be released.
Mr. Crockett endured months of excruciating metastatic spinal pain, emergency spinal surgery, a postoperative septic wound infection, hospital-acquired pneumonia, and ultimately died in palliative care. This tragedy reflects a troubling statewide pattern: a 2021 Washington corrections ombuds review found 11 cases in which delayed or denied cancer treatment contributed to inmate deaths.
Lake Union Law Group PLLC, led by Seattle personal injury attorney Dan Fiorito, has a proven record of holding institutions accountable for medical negligence and wrongful death. If you or a loved one has been harmed by delayed medical treatment, institutional negligence, or medical malpractice in Washington State, contact Dan Fiorito at Lake Union Law Group PLLC for a free consultation.