Medical malpractice occurs when diagnostic protocols are ignored

The failure to diagnose correctly is a major cause of injury and death in Louisiana to unsuspecting patients who have placed their trust in a physician’s hands. Physicians and other medical providers are held to a minimum standard of competency in treating a patient. Medical malpractice results when the doctor fails to follow the indicated protocol that a competent examination of the patient would require.

From the initial intake to the physical examination, the doctor must observe the symptoms and then make certain accepted conclusions from those observations. Thus, certain findings are made during the physical examination that, based on the patient’s expressed history, indicate further testing is necessary. A failure to conduct indicated testing can be medical negligence.

In one case in another state, the family of a deceased man is suing a university hospital center for malpractice that allegedly caused the man’s death. The complaint alleges that the medical providers did not properly diagnose the patient and declined to test him for blood clots despite findings indicating that risk factor. He had appeared first at the hospital complaining of a pain level of 10 out of 10; however, hospital personnel discharged him and sent him home.

He came back to the emergency room two days later with worsening back pain, radiating pain into his left leg, numbness and incontinence. The suit complains that emergency surgery was performed but the hospital failed to monitor and test him for blood clots after surgery. The hospital is accused of failing to diagnose fatal blood clot disorders that led to his death.

The lawsuit claims that the symptoms of blood clots continued to manifest while he was being treated by the hospital physicians. The case appears to entail some very specialized expert testimony to prove the plaintiff’s case, and it is likely that the evidence has already been researched, obtained and prepared. It is common practice in Louisiana and all jurisdictions for an experienced medical malpractice attorney to have all of his expert evidence lined up and prepared prior to filing suit.

Source: vtdigger.org, “Family sues UVM Medical Center for malpractice“, Erin Mansfield, Aug. 24, 2016