Case 13: Pre-Op Workup
The patient was instructed to go to his primary care doctor for pre-operative clearance. The patient’s history was notable for sleep apnea, but no other previous medical problems were documented. His only previous surgeries were a lumbar fusion and inguinal hernia repair. Labs were ordered, the results are shown below. These results were reviewed, and […]
Case 13: Cervical Fusion
Welcome to medmalreviewer.com! The purpose of this site is to improve doctor’s medical knowledge and documentation by reviewing real-life malpractice cases. Each case is broken down into several posts. To see more info about the website, here are links to the About Page and FAQs. Another helpful overview post is the 3 Goals of Documentation. I’ve created a Documentation Template to help […]
Case 12: Documentation Review
The ED doctor’s note will be the focus of this documentation review. One important thing to remember about good documentation is that it does not prevent a lawsuit. By the time an attorney even has a chance to read the documentation, the litigation process is already well on its way. However, good documentation can significantly […]
Case 12: Review
This case is a doctor’s worst nightmare. The patient had an extremely rare but life threatening condition, which presented with unusual symptoms. It is especially haunting because he spent multiple hours in the ED and hospital, precious time that potentially could have been used to address his aortic pathology. The difficulty of catching this type […]
Case 12: Legal Outcome
As the lawsuit progressed closer to trial, the two sides negotiated concerning a possible settlement. They could not come to a settlement agreement, but eventually agreed to arbitration. Arbitration is a process in which a neutral third party is hired to review the case and reach a verdict, which is then accepted by the court. […]
Case 12: Expert Witnesses
The plaintiff hired an expert witness to review the case for EMTALA violations. The expert witness they hired was an Emergency Medicine physician who had been practicing EM for over 20 years, and had also published extensive research on chest pain. One way to demonstrate an EMTALA violation is to show that the patient was […]
Case 12: Wife Deposition
The patient’s wife was deposed. She was with him the entire day, from driving him to the ED until he went to the cath lab and ultimately died. In addition to the depositions, the attorneys for both sides hired experts to address the claims of an EMTALA violation. Excerpts from their opinions are shown on […]
Case 12: Cardiologist Deposition
The cardiologist who was consulted and saw the patient was deposed. He was questioned closely about his understanding of the patient’s pain. As has been described multiple times previously, the patient did not ever explicitly report that he had chest pain. The attorney continues to point out the contradiction that both the chief complaint and […]
Case 12: Hospitalist Deposition
The hospitalist was deposed by the plaintiff’s attorney. In the following excerpt, she is being questioned about the conversation she had with the ED physician regarding the patient. They also discuss the history and exam she obtained from the patient. Later, she is questioned about the differential for the patient’s presentation. They also discuss the […]
Case 12: EM Deposition
The plaintiff’s allegation of negligence included the reasoning that the patient had chest pain, therefore a chest x-ray should have been obtained, which would have revealed a thoracic aortic aneurysm in enough time to intervene and save his life. The foundation of this argument is that the patient had chest pain. Whether or not the […]