We are lucky to live in a day and age when many conditions and diseases are easily cured by medical treatment and experienced doctors. But crucial to this process is accurately and effectively diagnosing symptoms in a timely manner. Early diagnoses likely create more treatment options, as well as more successful results. Failure to diagnose a patient’s ailment can lead to costly, even fatal, repercussions.
But there are opportunities for patients to recover from these medical errors. A federal judge in Brooklyn recently awarded $5.9 million to a family who lost their husband and father from complications in a bariatric surgery. A federal judge presided over the case because the hospital involved was a VA facility. The award was issued in two parts, $5 million to the man’s wife and the remainder to his three children.
The judge stated that the failure of the hospital was inexcusable when the doctors failed to diagnose a gastric leak in the man. The diagnosis was never made because the doctors though the patient weighed too much to fit inside the facility’s CT scan chamber.
The man’s medical records indicated that the doctors discussed the matter and considered taking him to another facility with a scanner that could sustain the patient’s 500-lb frame.
It wasn’t until months later when the man was found with massive and extensive infections. He died at the age of 54 at a VA nursing home, leaving his family behind. The judge concluded that he suffered terrible and persistent pain from the leak for almost three years.
Failure to diagnose a patient, especially when not following up with the standard tests and scans, can create a medical malpractice situation. Because the patient in this case tragically died, the family of the victim was able to recover money for their loss and for his pain and suffering.
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New York patients died because doctors failed to perform CT scan
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Jay W. Dankner
JAY W. DANKNER was born, raised and educated in Brooklyn, New York. After graduation from law school in 1973, he joined the firm of the legendary, Harry H, Lipsig, under whose tutelage he learned the intricacies of civil litigation and trials. He tried and won his first case against General Motors in a case involving a design defect within weeks after his admission. Thereafter, he focused his attention on the emerging and developing field of law known as products liability litigation.
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