Misdiagnosis & Medical Malpractice

Claims
By Floyd Arthur
On Dec. 21, 2015, Barbara Dawson, 57, went to the Emergency Department of Liberty
Calhoun Hospital in Blountstown, Florida, complaining of difficulty breathing and
abdominal pain. Doctors at the hospital assessed and treated Mrs. Dawson and then told
her to go home. When she refused, still complaining that she could not breathe, hospital
staff called the police to have her forcibly removed.

Medical Malpractice Claims

Mrs. Dawson was handcuffed, arrested and escorted to a police car, where she
subsequently collapsed. Eighteen minutes later she was readmitted to the Emergency
Department, but by then it was too late. Mrs. Dawson was dead. Her husbands
attorneys, aided by dashcam footage from the police car, have accused the hospital and
its physicians of negligence and filed a medical malpractice claim for an undisclosed
amount.

In a similar case, on Dec. 11, 2015, a Ford County, Illinois jury awarded a record
$950,000 to the family of 73 year-old David Buhs, who died following a transmural
myocardial infarction on Oct. 12, 2008. Mr. Buhs was treated by his primary physician,
David Hagan, M.D., of the Gibson City Clinic, and later admitted to the emergency
department of a local hospital, where he was treated and released. He was later
readmitted to the hospital and monitored for three days before being discharged on
October 12. He returned to the hospital later that day, but was soon dead due to a
ruptured left ventricular wall.

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According to the plaintiffs attorneys, neither Hagan, Gibson City Clinic nor the hospital
performed the testing needed to detect the deadly infarct. The jury found Dr. Hagan and
the clinic liable for damages but cleared the hospital and its physicians.

Misdiagnosis: An Important Factor

in Medical Malpractice Claims
Preventable medical errors are the No. 3 cause of death in the United States, killing an
estimated 400,000 Americans each year. Not all of these deaths are the result of
physician negligence, nor do even a fraction result in medical malpractice claims.
Nonetheless, the staggering number--the equivalent of two jumbo-jets crashing every
day -- should give all physicians pause.
In the outpatient setting, misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis is by far the most common
cause of action in successfully litigated medical malpractice claims. According to a
2013 study led by Dr. David Newman-Toker, associate professor of neurology at the
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, diagnostic errors
accounted for 35 percent of total payouts (about $39 billion) in medical malpractice
lawsuits between 1986 and 2010. The authors estimated that the actual number of
diagnosis-related deaths and injuries could be as high as 160,000 per year.

Can Physicians Avoid Diagnostic

Errors and Medical Malpractice
Claims?
The challenges faced by physicians practicing in the American healthcare system today
are far too numerous to enumerate here. Further, misdiagnoses and delayed diagnoses
are among the least studied of all medical errors, so there is little information about how
they come about. Nevertheless, Newman-Toker says, We have to pay attention to this
because it is too big of a problem to ignore."

Doctor-patient communication in the primary care setting may be one important key to
getting a diagnosis right. In the hustle-bustle of the office or clinic environment, many
patients -- especially the elderly -- fail to provide their doctors with a thorough and
accurate history of their illness, and important details get missed. Additionally, patients
may be unwilling to ask questions if they believe the doctor's diagnosis is wrong. Even
great doctors make mistakes, Newman-Toker explains. Patients need to be empowered
to ask questions, communicate their concerns and participate in their care.
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Communication and follow-up is also key. In a case cited in the Journal of Patient Safety
report, a group of cardiologists evaluated a 19 year-old athlete who experience syncope
while running. After five days of exhaustive inpatient testing failed to reveal a diagnosis,
the patient was discharged, but the group agreed he was not ready to start running
again. Nonetheless, none of them warned the patient of their concerns. Three weeks
later, while running, the patient died.
There is no doubt that there is much wrong with the health care system in America, and
physicians are suffering from a phenomenal rate of burnout as a result. Nonetheless,
preventing medical errors and avoiding costly medical malpractice claims needs to be a
priority for every physician practicing in the United States.
Let us help you structure a risk-management solution tailored to your practice and your
needs. Call us at 516-292-3780 any weekday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.to schedule an
appointment, or request a free consultation online today.
Visit www.CarmoonGroup.com to get your free 30-minute consultation.

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