Medical Malpractice Tips

Lung Cancer Misdiagnosis Malpractice case

Lung cancer: does the patient have cancer or is that scar tissue in the lung from tuberculosis or something else? The doctor has a duty to obtain any previous chest x-rays. If this is a "new lump" seen in the lung and the patient had a chest x-ray a year before and five years ago, which showed the same lump, it couldn't be cancer because it hasn't changed.

How was the patient evaluated before surgery? Bronchoscopy, looking into the windpipe, and obtaining sputum specimens for germs and cancer analysis is important. The condition must be properly diagnosed, biopsies performed when possible, the patient told about the risks, and the previous chest x-rays checked.

Very often we see negligence in failing to examine earlier x-rays, whether they were taken for tuberculosis screening, for work physicals, for insurance, for previous hospitalizations, or for any other condition. Have good copies made of all x-rays.

Misdiagnosis of a Heart Attack

A heart attack (myocardial infarction) is the most common cause of death in both men and women.

Failure to timely treat will result in further irreversible heart damage with the consequence of heart failure, or worse: death.

Classical crushing chest pain is most common in men, but not in women (who more commonly experience jaw, back or arm pain, or just fatigue).

Whenever any adult has symptoms of a heart attack, the following test must be performed: an electrocardiogram (EKG), plus blood enzyme test to rule out heart muscle injury (troponin and CPK).

Hospital Falls - Malpractice Cases

Common issues associated with nurses and hospitals are falls due to the lack of the use of rails. An elderly confused patient, or a patient narcotized with pain medicine or sedatives, requires full length side rails up so they can't fall out of bed.

The same is true for a combative, uncooperative or unstable patient. If the nurses' notes show they did not raise the side rails, or if witnesses, including the roommate, say the rails were not raised, and the patient falls out of bed and injures himself, it's negligence on the part of the hospital and the nurses. (Perhaps physician liability also if the doctor was aware that this was an elderly patient and he failed to write the side rail order.)