Unread X-ray prompts $2.19 million verdict
Unread X-ray prompts $2.19 million verdict
Illustrating the potential liability when a test result falls through the cracks, a Philadelphia jury recently awarded a widow $2.19 million in a malpractice suit against St. Joseph's Hospital and two ED physicians.
Testimony during the 10-day trial showed that 51-year-old Zachary James of Philadelphia died at the hospital when his heart stopped beating on April 20, 2006. The following day, his wife Rosalyn James, learned that a key X-ray had never been read before his death. Expert testimony in the trial indicated that the X-ray may have revealed information that could have prevented his death.
James had arrived at St. Joseph's by ambulance after suffering chest, arm, and leg pains. He was triaged within 10 minutes, and the attending ED physician, Thomas Powell, MD, assessed him within a half-hour, according to court documents.
Powell ordered lab tests, X-rays, and echocardiograms. Attorney Stephen Pokiniewski, JD, with the Philadelphia law firm of Anapol Schwartz, represented the James family. He told the Philadelphia Daily News that the doctor left the hospital at 10:20 a.m., just under two hours after the patient had arrived in the ED, to attend a corporate meeting in another city. The patient was left in the care of Emil Skobeloff, MD, who was working his first day on the job at St. Joseph's and was the only attending ED physician.
Pokiniewski says Powell was supposed to be orienting Skobeloff to the job, but instead the new doctor was left on his own. "Things fell through the crack with the changing of the guard," the attorney told the newspaper.
Court testimony and medical records indicated that hospital policy called for the emergency physician to review the patient's X-rays before they were sent to radiology, but neither physician did so. James died about 11 hours after admission from a dissecting aortic aneurysm. Court records indicate that the X-ray that could have revealed the aneurysm was not read until the following morning.
The jury found Powell 48% liable, Skobeloff 36% liable, and St. Joseph's 16% liable.
Illustrating the potential liability when a test result falls through the cracks, a Philadelphia jury recently awarded a widow $2.19 million in a malpractice suit against St. Joseph's Hospital and two ED physicians.Subscribe Now for Access
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