Shannen Doherty is battling breast cancer that worsened during a lapse in her health insurance caused by her former business managers, the actress claimed in a lawsuit filed Wednesday.
The former “Beverly Hills, 90210” star, 44, claims that her former business managers and accountants mismanaged her money and allowed her health insurance to lapse last year.
Because of that, she said she didn’t go to the doctor until she had insurance and there was a delay in diagnosing her cancer, which will likely require more drastic treatments, including a possible mastectomy and chemotherapy.
In March, Doherty discovered that she had invasive breast cancer and that it had spread while she was uninsured.
The suit alleges (via The Hollywood Reporter), “[Doherty] was also informed that, had she been insured and able to visit her doctor, the cancer could potentially have been stopped, thus obviating the need for the future treatment (including mastectomy and chemotherapy) that [Doherty] will likely have to suffer through now.”
An attorney for business management firm Tanner Mainstain Glynn & Johnson denied the company caused Doherty’s health insurance to lapse.
“Tanner Mainstain is saddened to learn that Ms. Doherty is suffering from cancer and wishes her a full recovery,” the company’s attorney, Randall J. Dean, wrote in a statement. “However, the claim that Tanner Mainstain caused her to be uninsured, prevented her from seeking medical care, or somehow contributed to her cancer is patently false. Tanner Mainstain will aggressively defend all of Ms. Doherty’s claims in court.”
This isn’t the first time Tanner Mainstain has been hit with a lawsuit. In 2014, Doherty’s attorney, Devin McRae, sued the firm over claims that James Franco’s manager had embezzled money. McRae also represents Doherty’s husband, Kurt Iswarienko, who’s engaged in a suit against Mainstain over allegations regarding taxes.
The lawsuits do not specify how much damages Doherty and Iswarienko are seeking. Doherty has been unable to work since the diagnosis.
“The spread of the cancer has caused [her] severe emotional distress,” the lawsuit states.
“The relationship between a business manager and its client is based on trust, in honesty and competence,” Doherty’s attorney, Devin McRae, wrote in a statement. “That trust was violated here, and we hope that the defendants will correct it in a responsible manner.”