Articles Posted in Misdiagnosis

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Elizabeth Njinga suffered from back pain for a long period of time. She was referred to an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Michael Alexiades. The doctor reviewed her x-rays and ordered an MRI.

Dr. Alexiades told Njinga that she had moderate degenerative changes in her hip and that her pain was coming from her hip and her back. The doctor recommended a hip replacement for pain relief.

After undergoing that surgery, Njinga experienced continued pain. Her relationship with her husband has been affected, and she is unable to travel extensively as she once did because of her condition.
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Ms. Doe underwent a laparoscopic hysterectomy that was performed by Dr. Roe, an obstetrician; she was discharged the same day.

She contacted the doctor’s office over the next few days, complaining that she felt ill and was experiencing pain. Four days after the surgery, Doe went to a hospital emergency room where a CT scan showed an accumulation of fluid in her pelvis. Surgery located a hole in Doe’s sigmoid colon, which necessitated a colostomy.

Doe also was later diagnosed as having an injured right ureter. Doe required a colostomy bag for ten months. She also required surgery to treat several incisional hernias.
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James Kowher underwent a stress test after experiencing an episode of chest pain while he was sleeping. Cardiologist Dr. Sobhan Kodali interpreted the test as negative.

About nine months later, Kowher experienced repeated chest pain episodes accompanied by shortness of breath, nausea and perspiration. Additionally, these episodes were increasing in frequency and severity and continued for up to ten minutes. Kowher’s primary care physician arranged an appointment with Dr. Kodali for two days later.

Dr. Kodali ordered an EKG and diagnosed Kowher as having panic attacks before discharging him. The primary care physician subsequently referred Kowher to a gastroenterologist, whose notes stated that Kowher’s chest pain were ongoing and worsening.
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Ms. Doe was in her late 30s and suffered from multiple symptoms, including headaches. She consulted Dr. Roe, a neurologist, who performed a clinical examination. Dr. Roe diagnosed Ms. Doe as having multiple sclerosis (MS).

For approximately the next seven years, Ms. Doe underwent chemotherapy treatment and took numerous medications, resulting in complications that included pulmonary embolism, infertility, and a compromised immune system. Now hospitalized for a sleep study, a medical provider told Ms. Doe that she did not have MS and never had the condition.

Doe sued Dr. Roe, the neurologist, alleging that he misdiagnosed her migraine condition as MS. Among other things, Doe argued that Dr. Roe chose not to confirm the diagnosis through a brain MRI and that previous imaging studies showed no evidence of lesions on her spine or brain.
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Joseph Barsuli, 49, was experiencing aches and left-sided neck pain. The doctor who examined him diagnosed a virus. He then developed numbness in his finger and arm, prompting his admission to a hospital.

At the hospital, a neurologist ordered a CT scan of the cervical spine, which was read by a radiologist, Dr. Wayne Liou, an employee of Virtual Radiological Corp. Dr. Liou interpreted the test as normal; however, the next day, another local radiologist reviewed the film and diagnosed a cervical epidural abscess.

A spinal epidural abscess is an accumulation of pus in the epidural space that can compress the spinal cord. The diagnosis of this is by MRI or by myelography followed by a CT scan. Treatment involves antibiotics and sometimes the drainage of the abscess. The symptoms of this condition are pain, fever and neurologic deficits.
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William Pratt, 67, was diagnosed with Stage IV liver cancer. He fell down a flight of stairs and was transferred to a hospital emergency room where he was examined and sent for radiological scans. A preliminary reading of the scans concluded that he had not broken any bones during the fall.

The next morning, radiologist Dr. Geoffrey Gilleland reviewed the films and determined that Pratt had in fact broken nine ribs. Dr. Gilleland did not notify the emergency department of his findings, and Pratt was later discharged.

Over the next two days, Pratt developed pneumonia. He was admitted to another hospital where he died two weeks later of the pneumonia and complications of end-stage liver cancer. He was survived by his wife and three adult children.
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Arleisha Hayes suffered from asthma. She was 44 years old at the time of this incident. She experienced shortness of breath when taken by ambulance to Hialeah Hospital. When she was admitted to the facility’s ICU and given a nasal swab, the swab showed no infection.

For the next several days, she was treated with steroids and antibiotics. After her condition improved somewhat, she was transferred to a telemetry floor.

While in the telemetry floor, Hayes developed severe shortness of breath and chest pains. This prompted a nurse to call for a rapid response. The house physician, Dr. Xavier Ramos, a medical school graduate who was not licensed to practice medicine, ordered a STAT chest X-ray and transferred her back to the ICU.
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The Illinois Appellate Court for the First District reversed a summary judgment in favor of the defendant Swedish Covenant Hospital and Dr. Kamal.

This wrongful death and survival action was brought by Shicheng Guo, special administrator for the estate of the deceased, Shiqian Bao. The complaint alleged that Bao was brought to Swedish Covenant’s emergency department after experiencing a severe headache. She underwent a CT scan.

A few hours after being discharged from Swedish Covenant, another doctor reviewed her CT scan and found signs of a brain bleed. Bao was called back to Swedish Covenant for treatment. She chose not to pursue further treatment at Swedish Covenant and instead immediately presented herself to the emergency department at Lutheran General Hospital. Doctors at Lutheran General did another series of tests but did not diagnose a brain bleed and discharged her from the hospital without treatment. Bao died three days later of an alleged brain hemorrhage.
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At issue in this case, which ended in the Idaho Supreme Court, was whether the jury’s verdict would stand. A medical malpractice lawsuit was brought by Leila Brauner against AHC of Boise d/b/a Aspen Transitional Rehab (Aspen). The lawsuit arose out of Aspen’s delay in sending Brauner to the hospital following her knee replacement surgery, which was a substantial factor resulting in the amputation of her right leg above the knee at mid-thigh.

After a jury trial, a verdict in favor of Brauner was signed by the jury in the amount of $2,265,204 in damages.

Aspen appealed, alleging that various pre-trial and post-trial rulings were in error and resulted in an unsustainable judgment.
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A Mississippi State Appellate Court has reversed a dismissal of a lawsuit that claimed the defendant physician, Dr. Terry Millette, misdiagnosed Debra Green as having multiple sclerosis (MS). As the lawsuit was filed after the applicable state’s one-year limitation, the defendant moved to dismiss, which was granted by the trial court.

Green, a patient of physician Dr. Terry Millette, developed memory problems and an unsteady gait. She began to suffer frequent falls. Green underwent an MRI, which led Dr. Millette to diagnose multiple sclerosis. One year later, in November 2016, after she had been taking medication for MS, Singing River Hospital sent her a letter stating that questions had been raised about Dr. Millette’s medical practices. The letter urged her to obtain a re-evaluation of her diagnosis and treatment plan.

Early in the following year, 2017, Green was evaluated by a new doctor. The doctor told her in May 2017 that she did not have MS. Green sent Singing River Health System a pre-suit notice of claim in January 2018 and filed a medical malpractice suit in May 2018.
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