A Brunswick doctor who has been criticized by medical malpractice lawyers for not ordering an X-ray days before a teenage patient’s death testified on Tuesday that her actions were being taken out of context.
Dr. Danielle Salhany, a gynecologist for Mid Coast Medical Group, was one of the last doctors to assess 15-year-old Jasmine Vincent in late July 2021. For weeks, Jasmine had complained to another doctor in southern Maine of fatigue, stomach aches, and difficulty breathing, according to lawyers.
A week after being diagnosed with pneumonia and prescribed prednisone, a type of steroid, Jasmine developed abnormally swollen breasts and neck veins. She was then referred to the gynecology office at Mid Coast, where Dr. Salhany was on call.
Tragically, Jasmine died less than a week after that visit. It was later discovered that she had an acute form of pediatric leukemia, a diagnosis she never received while alive.
Jasmine’s mother, Lyndsey Sutherland, sued Mid Coast Medical Group under the Maine Wrongful Death Act in 2023. She is seeking damages to be determined by a jury, should they find Mid Coast liable. Sutherland is scheduled to testify later this week.
During opening statements in the civil trial on Monday, Sutherland’s lawyers criticized Dr. Salhany for not ordering an X-ray, for failing to review Jasmine’s previous medical records, and for diagnosing the girl with gynecomastia. The lawyers noted that gynecomastia is typically a diagnosis made in adult men using anabolic steroids.
Dr. Salhany testified that she believed at the time that the prednisone could have been the cause, although she was not aware of any other cases where the medication had led to gynecomastia in a teenage girl. She also admitted that she did not review any medical literature on the condition before making her diagnosis.
On Tuesday, Sutherland’s lawyers called two expert witnesses who testified that an X-ray scan would have likely revealed the girl’s cancer and that early treatment could have increased her chances of survival.
Dr. Salhany, who is not being sued personally, testified that she only met with Jasmine once and had a limited view of the girl’s broader symptoms, which had been addressed by other doctors at Martin’s Point, another healthcare provider where Jasmine received primary care.
Sutherland had also sued Martin’s Point but dropped the healthcare provider from the case before trial, according to a stipulation filed on October 17. The records do not state the reason for this dismissal. Martin’s Point declined to comment on Monday and did not respond to a detailed list of questions on Tuesday.
“There’s no way I would have been able to predict the future, that this kid had a very rare form of pediatric cancer,” Dr. Salhany said.
She also testified that she had not questioned Jasmine’s 2021 pneumonia diagnosis—which was also incorrect—because she had no reason at the time to assume Martin’s Point had not conducted a thorough investigation into Jasmine’s symptoms.
Dr. Salhany spent nearly two and a half hours on the witness stand. She recalled that when she met Jasmine, the teenager seemed relatively healthy, was able to speak in complete sentences despite wearing a face mask, and was sitting upright without any assistance.
Sutherland’s attorney, Benjamin Gideon, questioned Dr. Salhany on why she did not order further imaging or testing, especially given that an X-ray machine was available on the same Brunswick campus. He also asked why she never reviewed Jasmine’s records from Martin’s Point.
Dr. Salhany responded that she never received those medical records. However, a Martin’s Point employee testified on Tuesday that the requested paperwork had been faxed to Dr. Salhany upon her nurse’s request.
Dr. Salhany maintained that, as a gynecologist, many of the recommended steps were “not within the scope of my practice.”
https://www.sunjournal.com/2025/10/28/doctor-testifies-during-new-gloucester-mothers-case-against-mid-coast-medical-provider/