William Andrews, 46, suffered from orthopedic injuries, including a hip fracture that he suffered in an ATV crash. He went to a hospital emergency room where he was placed in a knee immobilizer and was instructed to stay non-weight bearing. At a later doctor’s appointment with an orthopedist, he was diagnosed as having a fractured wrist and was referred to an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Gelfand.
Several days later, Dr. Gelfand met with Andrews and his wife who informed the doctor of Andrews’s hip fracture and immobility. Dr. Gelfand recommended that Andrews undergo surgical repair of the wrist fracture. This was scheduled for approximately ten days later.
Andrews remained immobile before the surgery and did not leave his house. The morning of the wrist surgery, Andrews’s wife found him on the floor of their bedroom, where he had died. The later autopsy showed that Andrews had died from a saddle pulmonary embolism.
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