By John Tenpenny
Missed payments on medical insurance premiums are at the core of a lawsuit launched by a Hollywood starlet, who believes that the negligence of her management company resulted in a delay of her cancer diagnosis.
Former Beverly Hills, 90210 star Shannen Doherty, who recently discovered that she suffered from invasive breast cancer, has launched a lawsuit against her management firm, Tanner Mainstain. She alleges that she was diagnosed with the illness in March, and that the cancer spread during the time she was uninsured, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In court documents, Doherty insists it was the firm’s job to ensure “timely payment” of the medical insurance premiums through her membership in the Screen Actors Guild.
“In November 2013, SAG sent the premium invoice to Tanner Mainstain for Plaintiff’s medical insurance coverage for the year 2014,” states the complaint. “However, Defendants ignored it, failed to pay it (without informing Plaintiff) and then promptly terminated their relationship with [Doherty] effective February 7, 2014.”
Doherty says she initially was unaware that she had no health insurance after she was dismissed by her management firm. Once she discovered that the premiums hadn’t been paid, she re-enrolled in the SAG insurance program, which is when she learned of her cancer diagnosis.
She alleges that had she been insured, she would have been informed of her diagnosis sooner, and may have able to treat it more effectively than she can now.
