Aches and pains happen to everyone every now and then. Some may even refer to them as growing pains, but no one expects such pains to be anything serious. Most people may simply take an over-the-counter pain killer. But for some, such pains may be symptoms of a serious health condition. Generally, a healthcare professional should be able to diagnose a medical issue or one hopes that a doctor will competently be able to identify what ails a person.
Connecticut residents may have heard that recently a woman filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a couple of doctors and the places where they work for failing to timely treat and diagnose her osteosarcoma – a cancerous bone tumor.
Her lawsuit alleges that after she began to have pains in her left knee and lost range in its motion, she visited a doctor. X-rays of the left knee were ordered which showed a potential abnormality. This doctor then apparently ordered an MRI on the wrong knee, which did not show any problems. Nevertheless, he allegedly treated the woman’s left knee based on the incorrect MRI.
According to her lawsuit, she then sought treatment from another doctor who independently also identified a potential problem with her left knee. However, he allegedly only relied on the other doctor’s MRI of the wrong knee and treated it accordingly. The woman alleges that several follow-up visits were made by her and the second doctor continuously relied on the wrong MRI. Several months passed by.
At some point, the woman sought another opinion, and the third doctor she visited identified the abnormality in an X-ray and referred her to a tumor specialist who then referred her to an oncologist. Shortly thereafter, she was diagnosed with a cancerous bone tumor in her left leg. By this time, she alleges that the cancer had spread to her lung and had increased in size.
The medical malpractice lawsuit alleges that the two doctors she initially visited were negligent and did not diagnose and treat her properly. As damages the woman is seeking over $25,000 for her medical expenditure, future medical bills, permanent injuries and pain she endured during invasive procedures.
Source: Lima News, “Coldwater woman files medical malpractice lawsuit,” Greg Sowinski, July 22, 2014
