Actual Cases

Columbia Cas. Co. v. CP Nat., Inc. -- S.W.3d ----, 2004 WL 2066247 Tex.App.-Houston [1 Dist.],2004. Sep 16, 2004 $2,000,000 The Underlying Suit         On an evening in December, Howard Flax sought treatment at Sibley emergency room complaining of persistent fever and a cough. Dr. Doyan, the emergency room physician on duty, examined Flax and, as part of the physical exam, ordered a chest x-ray. Dr. Doyan performed a preliminary reading of the x-ray and concluded that it was negative for pneumonia but that there was possibly a large lymph node. He diagnosed Flax as suffering from acute bronchitis and proscribed Hycomine and a Ventolin inhaler; he told Flax to continue taking the antibiotics he had been taking, and to take Tylenol or Advil if necessary.           The next day, Dr. Newman, a radiologist, interpreted the chest x-ray as "probably normal" and suggested a repeat x-ray in 30 to 60 days to exclude any growth in the left hilum, which contained very minimal fullness, probably representing vascular structures rather than pleural disease. He sent his report to the emergency room that day. Dr. Pearce was the emergency room physician on duty when the radiology report arrived at the emergency room. As the Director of the Emergency Department at Sibley, Dr. Pearce was responsible for reporting the x-ray interpretations from the radiologist to Flax and to his private physician. Dr. Pearce allegedly failed to inform Flax's private physician about the x-ray and failed to communicate to Flax that, although the x-ray looked normal, there was the possible presence of an abnormality and that a follow-up x-ray was recommended in 30 to 60 days.          Flax was later diagnosed as having peripheral T-cell lymphoma, which ultimately caused his death. The lymphoma was alleged to have been present on December 1, 1996 , when he went to the Sibley emergency room. The Flaxes contended in their suit that Dr. Doyan misdiagnosed Flax's condition, misinterpreted the chest x-ray, and misrepresented to Flax that the results of his x-ray were normal. They also argued that Dr. Pearce was negligent in failing to inform Mr. Flax that he needed to obtain a follow-up chest x-ray because it would have detected the peripheral T-cell lymphoma much earlier than it was ultimately detected. Overall, the Flax lawsuit alleged that "the defendants misinterpreted, mishandled, and miscommunicated the results of Mr. Flax's chest x-ray taken at Sibley Hospital on December 1, 1996 . As a result ... the correct diagnosis and initiation of treatment for Mr. Flax's cancer was delayed for more than one year ... [This] delay was a substantial factor in eliminating or significantly reducing Mr. Flax's chance of surviving the disease." The first complaint included claims for medical negligence and loss of consortium against Dr. Doyan and CEP, but not against Dr. Pearce or NES. In her second amended complaint, Mrs. Flax added Dr. Pearce and NES as defendants and asserted additional claims for wrongful death and a survival action.

Jones v. St. Anthony Medical Center N.E.2d, 1996 WL 70997 Ohio App. 10 Dist.,1996. Mr. Jones injured his knee on December 24, 1991 . He promptly reported to the emergency room at St. Anthony, where he received treatment from Dr. Garcia. After examining the knee and interpreting x-rays he had ordered, Dr. Garcia informed Mr. Jones the knee was severely sprained, but not fractured. Mr. Jones was released from the emergency room with instructions indicating the hospital would contact him if a radiologist's x-ray reading indicated a fracture. (Plaintiffs' Exhibit 4, Attached to Deposition of Dr. Roger Garcia.) The following day, Dr. Wang, a radiologist working at St. Anthony, further interpreted Mr. Jones' x-rays to find a small fracture. In his report, Dr. Wang noted the fracture and instructed that his finding be correlated with a physical exam. According to hospital procedure, he then forwarded the report to the emergency department. At the time of Mr. Jones' treatment Dr. Garcia was under contract with The Sterling Group, a Florida corporation providing emergency room physicians at St. Anthony, and Dr. Wang was under contract with Radiology, Inc., a corporation providing radiologists to St. Anthony and other hospitals. Because Mr. Jones continued to experience persistent pain, he sought further treatment from his family doctor and several orthopedic specialists. On February 26, 1992 , Mr. Jones learned that he actually had fractured his knee in the December 24, 1991 incident and that Dr. Garcia's initial diagnosis was incorrect. Failure to diagnose or delay in diagnosis. $7,000,000 FOR THE PATIENT In 2002 a Florida healthcare entity was sued when it failed to follow-up on a mammogram report. The patient never received a card from the hospital about the results of her mammogram, although the physician said he tried to reach her and initialed that he had read the report. Ten months later, the patient felt the lump, but by that time she had metastatic disease and died shortly thereafter. 12/5/2005 : http://www.accc-cancer.org/ONIS/articles/sepoc04/fiesta.pdf