Articles Posted in Misdiagnosis

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A confidential settlement was reached wherein a 63-year-old woman’s misdiagnosed lung cancer led to her untimely death. The woman, identified only as Doe, underwent a CT scan while she was hospitalized. This showed a lung lesion that the interpreting radiologist reported as possible cancer. A hospitalist reported these findings to Doe’s primary care physician. 

The primary care physician referred Doe to a pulmonologist but did not tell her that cancer was suspected.  The hospital sent Doe’s CT scan to the pulmonologist, who reported to the primary care physician that part of the scan was missing. The primary care physician allegedly said that he would provide the missing film. However, there was no followup. The pulmonologist also chose not tell Doe that cancer was suspected when the two subsequently met.

Five years later, Doe developed shortness of breath and other ominous symptoms. Doe was diagnosed with having Stage IV lung cancer; she died two months later. Doe was survived by her husband and two adult children. Doe’s husband filed a lawsuit against the primary care physician and the pulmonologist claiming that these defendants chose not to follow up on the radiologist’s suspicion of lung cancer. The lawsuit did not claim any lost income.

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It is estimated that 250,000 people die each year in the United States as a result of medical malpractice according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Approximately 80,000 Medicare patients suffer preventable adverse events that contribute to their deaths; as many as half of those deaths are due to emergency room errors. 

In 2003, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office stated that “181,000 severe injuries (attributable to medical negligence) occurred in U.S. hospitals [,]”.  These numbers show that medical malpractice deaths have worsened during the past ten years. Despite this increase, state governments and legislatures have tried to impede the amount of money recoverable to injured or killed persons and/or their families as the result of medical malpractice. 

For example, in Missouri, where I have been a member of the bar since 1976, nearly 1/3 of medical malpractice cases involve surgery in some way. The next largest percentage of medical errors reported there is 18.7% for misdiagnosis leading to severe injury or death followed by 13.2% involving falls or injuries during transport of patients. 

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A Cook County jury has decided that Northwestern Memorial Hospital was not negligent after a back surgery on 83-year-old JoAnn Smith went wrong. 

On Aug. 5, 2010, Smith underwent an L4-5 microendoscopic foraminotomy and discectomy at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for management of her back pain. After the surgery, she was diagnosed with multiple deep vein thromboses, pulmonary embolism and a blood clot in her right internal jugular vein. Heparin was given to help with the clotting issue.

On Aug. 8, 2010, Smith developed abnormal neurological signs and symptoms. An MRI revealed internal bleeding and cord compression in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. An emergency decompression surgery was done.

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Danute Paulaviciene, 57, came to the office of the defendant internist, Dr. Edmund Vizinas, on Dec. 27, 2008 complaining of fever, shortness of breath and poor sleep. She had recently visited the caves in Missouri. On examination, she was noted to have a fever of 100.5 degrees, pulse of 110, respirations of 16 and 94 percent oxygen saturation level.

Dr. Vizinas ordered a chest x-ray, complete blood count and metabolic profile. The patient returned to Dr. Vizinas two days later and told him she was feeling better and had no shortness of breath on exertion. Her temperature was normal. Dr. Vizinas told her that her chest x-ray revealed extensive bilateral infiltrates, her complete blood count was essentially normal with a normal white count and a slight rise in neutrophils and her metabolic profile showed slightly decreased albumin, elevated sedimentation rate, slightly decreased total cholesterol and slightly elevated liver function.

Dr. Vizinas started her on Avelox, an antibiotic given for community acquired pneumonia. On Dec. 31, Paulaviciene’s daughter-in-law checked on her at 4 a.m. and found that she had a fever, but by 6 a.m., it had come down. At 8 a.m. she was coughing but not gasping or having difficulty breathing. However, by 9 a.m., she was extremely short of breath, gasping and unable to speak. She was rushed to Edward Hospital in Naperville, Ill., with severe shortness of breath and 82 percent oxygen saturation levels while on oxygen. She was sent to the ICU at the hospital and placed on a ventilator. Her condition never improved, and she died 11 days later survived by her adult son and a daughter who lives in Lithuania.

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Janelle Jones, 57, underwent a cardiac catherization at Medical Center of Southeast Texas. Jones complained of chest pain before she was discharged. She underwent some testing. Jones was told to follow up with her treating physician in one week or go to the hospital if her pain increased. 

Four days after she was discharged from the hospital, Jones met with her treating cardiologist and complained of shortness of breath, chest pain and increased heart rate. The doctor diagnosed a stomach issue and prescribed medicine.

Four days after that, Jones went to the emergency room at the hospital, where she later died of a fatal heart attack. She was survived by her husband and four children. 

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A Cook County jury returned a verdict of $314,000 related to the death of John Alexander. Mr. Alexander was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2002. A CT scan in 2006 showed evidence of a recurrence of the bladder cancer. The CT was ordered by the defendant internist, Philip Kiley, M.D.

Dr. Kiley had requested that his staff forward the CT report by fax to the patient’s treating urologist. In addition, Dr. Kiley claimed that he advised Mr. Alexander to return to the neurologist for further treatment. However, the fax was never sent, and the Alexander family claimed there was never any instruction to follow up with the urologist in 2006. 

Dr. Jerrold Seckler, the urologist, did not learn of the cancer recurrence until a year later. Even with the recurrence of the cancer, Dr. Seckler chose not inform Mr. Alexander and did not initiate any treatment.

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Virginia Gettys was admitted to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Highland, Ill., with abdominal pain, abdominal distension and a report of bloody stools. This followed a recent colonoscopy. Gettys was admitted to the hospital on Jan. 14, 2004. 

The defendant, Dr. Jose Diaz, a general surgeon, performed an exploratory laparotomy to see the cause of Gettys’ symptoms. Dr. Diaz found nothing wrong. 

Gettys, 43, was transferred to another hospital where she died just four days later. She was survived by her husband and children.

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On June 22, 2006, Raymone Bowe, a 10-year-old boy, was brought by his mother to the emergency department at Norwegian American Hospital in Chicago with a sore throat, headache and a history of fever and vomiting. Raymone was seen in the ER by the defendant, Dr. Joseph Mejia, an occupational medicine/ophthalmology physician. 

Dr. Mejia diagnosed flu and headache and discharged Raymone with instructions to follow up if his symptoms continued or got worse. Two days later, at 12:19 a.m. on June 24, 2006, Raymone’s mother brought him to the emergency department at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. She reported that Raymone had  3 days of diarrhea, vomiting and fever. The complete blood count showed Raymone had an elevated white blood count, but he was still discharged with a diagnosis of a viral syndrome. Later that  day, Raymone was taken to Children’s Memorial Hospital, where he was diagnosed with Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis. Raymone was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit. 

Because of the delay in treating the meningitis, Raymone sustained complete and permanent hearing loss in both ears resulting in surgeries to insert bilateral cochlear implants. 

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Jungie Kim underwent surgery to repair an abdominal aortic aneurysm at Rush Northshore Medical Center on Sept. 24, 2003.  Kim was a 55-year-old housewife.  The surgery was done by a vascular surgeon, Dr. Douglas Norman, a contracted employee at Rush Northshore. 

Following the surgery, Ms. Kim experienced severe ischemia in her right foot. Several more surgical procedures were performed.  There was the development of compartment syndrome pressure in a muscle compartment, which can cause muscle and nerve damages because of decreased blood flow.

In spite of the right foot surgeries, Ms. Kim’s foot became gangrenous, which eventually led to an amputation of the forefoot in April 2004.

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Jennifer, a 25-year-old student, began experiencing severe headaches and visual disturbances. Several days later she went to a hospital emergency room. She told the ER staff  she was not prone to headaches and that she was currently taking oral contraception. Jennifer was diagnosed with a complex migraine headache.

Several hours later however, she developed slurred speech, tingling and paralysis in her arm along with low blood pressure. An attending physician ordered a CT scan of Jennifer’s head, which was interpreted by a radiologist showing no evidence of acute hemorrhage. Jennifer’s condition continued to deteriorate, and she began experiencing seizures. 

Finally, she was transferred to another hospital, where a second CT scan showed bilateral intracranial hemorrhages caused by thrombosis or a stroke. The doctors ordered brain surgery, which required a long and extensive rehabilitation program. She now has right-sided weakness and speech problems and requires lifetime medications.

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