The lawsuit was filed in federal court because the alleged malpractice happened at the VA, and defendant was the United States of America.
Multiple plaintiffs were involved in the case; all of them are the patient’s adult children.
The resident who saw the patient and discharged him from the ED was deposed. The plaintiff’s attorney spent time questioning the decision to order a CT renal stone protocol (obtained without contrast) as opposed to a study with contrast, which would have been more likely to identify a vascular problem.
The lawyer also questioned her about the discussion she had with the attending physician. It was several years after the encounter, and therefore she has no memory of the patient nor her presentation to the attending. Here they discuss the signatures at the bottom of her note.
Continue to the next page to see the expert witness opinion.