Two radiologists, Rebecca L. Dyson and Salvatore G. Viscomi, are also named in the suit. According to Shearer’s lawyer, Alex H. MacDonald, the two doctors had also confirmed that the early X-ray with the lesion were clear of disease.

In a brief statement yesterday, Brigham and Women’s said that “the legal process is the appropriate forum to respond to the allegations.”

Dyson could not be reached yesterday and Viscomi, who was a first-year resident when the alleged negligence took place, declind to comment.

The lawsuit does not call for any specific damages, although it does state that Gould earned $300,000 a year from speaking engagements and that “a seven figure income was his norm.” The suit also states that Gould was negotiating a two million dollar book contract before his death.

Although MacDonald would not reveal the exact value of the damages, he said Shearer will seek a number in the “multi-millions of dollars.”

Shearer said any monetary award would be used to support Gould’s two adult-age sons from a previous marriage, one of whom is autistic. Other money would be used to make Gould’s writing available for free online, she said.

“My interest is really preserving Steve’s legacy,” Shearer said.

During his time at Harvard, Gould developed an evolutionary theory known as “punctuated equilibrium,” which suggests that the process of evolution is broken up by short periods of relatively rapid change and is not slow and steady as once thought.

His book “The Mismeasure of Man” won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1982.

The lawsuit is not expected to go to trial for another two years, according to MacDonald.

The trial will take place in Cambridge, with the jury drawn from Middlesex County.

—Staff writer May Habib can be reached at habib@fas.harvard.edu.