Articles Posted in Misdiagnosis of Infection

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Doe, age 3, was diagnosed as having a viral infection and experienced 4 to 5 days of fever and increased fussiness. Doe’s mother took the child to Lawndale Christian Health Center, a federally funded clinic; this required the plaintiff to file under the appropriate federal statute, the Federal Tort Claims Act. At the clinic, a physician assistant noted slight swelling in Doe’s upper right eyelid and his inability to open the eye fully. Doe also had a slightly abnormal pulse rate and blood pressure.

The physician assistant diagnosed periorbital cellulitis and a history of fever consistent with a viral infection. The physician assistant prescribed an antibiotic and told Doe’s mother to go to a hospital emergency room if Doe’s eye became swollen shut or did not improve in 1 to 2 days.

Two days later, Doe’s mother found her child unresponsive. Doe was rushed to a hospital where he was diagnosed as having septic shock, subdural abscess, and sinusitis, among other problems necessitating emergency neurosurgery. Doe, who suffered a stroke, had suffered a brain injury that resulted in cognitive delays.
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Frances Mitchell, 43, underwent outpatient laparoscopic surgery performed by surgeon Dr. Andrew Green at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center. Approximately 12 hours after the surgery, she returned to the medical center complaining of severe abdominal pain. Dr. Green examined her, diagnosed bladder spasms and discharged her.

Mitchell died several days later. She was survived by her mother and two children.

Mitchell’s family and estate filed a lawsuit against Dr. Green, the medical center, a physician group, and the health system alleging that she had suffered a bowel perforation during the surgery but that Dr. Green had chosen not to recognize and repair it intraoperatively.
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Ms. Doe, 36, went to a hospital emergency department complaining of severe flank or side pain. She underwent testing and was diagnosed as having a kidney stone in her ureter.

Ms. Doe’s test results were allegedly equivocal and showed bacteria in her urine as well as an elevated white blood cell count, which is a sign of infection. However, Ms. Doe was discharged from the emergency room and sent home.

Ms. Doe’s condition worsened. She suffered septic shock, the last stage of infection. Ms. Doe returned to the hospital where she underwent surgery to remove the blockage in her ureter. Despite this treatment, Ms. Doe developed ischemia in her extremities and required surgery to remove necrotic dead or dying tissue.
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Darion Brewer was just seven months old and was sick for nine days. He was placed on Zithromax (Z-pak), an anti-biotic after being taken to a hospital emergency room and urgent care facility. He was seen by a pediatrician, Dr. Cheryl Emoto, who noted that Darion was experiencing respiratory distress and weight loss.

The doctor diagnosed bronchiolitis and prescribed Albuterol, advising Darion’s family to return in a week if his condition did not improve. Sadly, four days later, Darion died. An autopsy reportedly revealed that he had suffered from acute pneumonia. He was survived by his mother.

The Brewer family sued Dr. Emoto and her medical group, alleging that the doctor had misdiagnosed Darion’s condition and chose not to obtain his prior medical records including a hospital x-ray showing pneumonia.
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Mr. Doe, a diabetic who suffered from peripheral vascular disease, underwent a partial leg amputation. While undergoing inpatient rehabilitation, Mr. Doe developed symptoms of a gastrointestinal bleed and was readmitted to the hospital.

During Mr. Doe’s 5-day stay, his attending medical providers did not assess his surgical stump and nurses did not change his dressing.

Mr. Doe developed an infection of the incision site, resulting in gangrene. Consequently, Mr. Doe required a revision of the surgical stump. He sued the hospital alleging improper wound treatment.
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Anderson Fuentes, 47, had been diagnosed HIV-positive. He experienced severe back pain and an inability to urinate. He was admitted to Wycoff Heights Medical Center emergency room, where he was seen by an internist, Dr. Onyemachi Ajah. After Fuentes underwent drainage of his urine, Dr. Ajah attributed his pain to urine retention and scheduled Fuentes for discharge from the hospital.

Mr. Fuentes then began to experience difficulty walking and refused to leave the hospital. As a result, a CT scan was done, which showed a previously diagnosed herniated disk at L3-4.

Another physician, Dr. Theophine Abakporo, assumed Fuentes’s care and ordered a second CT scan. Dr. Abakporo also called for a neurological consultation, which was done several hours later.
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Alice Underwood, 82, underwent hip replacement surgery and rehabilitation. Six days after the surgery, she was admitted to Victor Valley Global Medical Center for treatment of a urinary tract infection and dehydration.

While she was hospitalized, she suffered a surgical site infection, which caused her incision to separate. She underwent surgery to remove necrotic tissue and then was sent to a rehabilitation facility.

Twenty-six days later, Underwood died of cardiopulmonary arrest and infection. She was survived by her three adult daughters and a son.
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Dwayne Kenney suffered a fractured left leg in a motorcycle crash. He underwent open reduction and internal fixation surgery, which was performed by an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Cyrus Kump II. Kenney suffered complications and, suspecting an infection, Dr. Kump removed the plates and screws from his leg approximately three months later. During that procedure, Dr. Kump was unable to close the skin over Kenney’s exposed tibia. Nevertheless, Dr. Kump ordered only dressing changes for the next four weeks, leaving the wound open to the air.

Six months later, a plastic surgeon attempted to cover Kenney’s exposed bone. Kenney contracted MRSA, osteomyelitis, and the procedure failed in less than two weeks. Several months after that, Kenney’s left leg required amputation. Although it was not reported, it may be assumed that the amputation was below the knee.

Kenney sued Dr. Kump and his practice alleging that Kump chose not to place an external fixator to stabilize the fractured tibia during the second surgery and decided not to timely consult a plastic surgeon to address an exposed tibia within five days of the procedure. The exposure of the bone to air led to the infection, which included osteomyelitis.
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Six days after undergoing hip replacement surgery and rehabilitation, Alice Underwood, 82, was admitted to Victor Valley Global Medical Center for treatment of a urinary tract infection and dehydration. She suffered a surgical site infection while she was hospitalized, which caused her incision to separate.

Underwood underwent surgery to remove necrotic tissue, after which she was sent to a rehabilitation facility. Twenty-six days later, she died of cardiopulmonary arrest and infection. Underwood was survived by her three adult daughters and a son.

The Underwood family, through a daughter, individually and on behalf of the Underwood estate, sued the hospital alleging it chose not to provide wound care to Underwood for 12 days during her hospitalization. The lawsuit also alleged that the hospital’s nurse negligently sent Underwood to the rehabilitation facility without the appropriate and necessary antibiotics.
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A Texas state appellate court has held that a plaintiff expert’s report was adequate in a case brought by the parents whose child died after receiving inadequate treatment for a respiratory infection. Luz Del Carmen Rodriguez and Victor Velazquez took their infant son to the office of a pediatrician, Dr. Satbir Chhina.

A nurse practitioner diagnosed the baby as having respiratory syncytial virus and prescribed Tylenol and nebulizer treatments. Dr. Chhina later signed off on the treatment plan that was presented to him by the nurse practitioner. However, the next day, the baby became unresponsive. He was transferred to a hospital, where he died of cardio-pulmonary arrest. An autopsy revealed that the child’s death resulted from sepsis originating from a bacterial infection.

Rodriguez and Velazquez sued Dr. Chhina and the nurse practitioner, alleging medical negligence. The plaintiffs offered the expert report of Dr. Armando Correa, a board-certified pediatrician who specialized in pediatric infectious disease.
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