Failure to Properly Read and Report Imaging Result Leads to Wrongful Death of Father

The Medical Negligence Case Facts:

Mr. Romano woke and made himself breakfast as he usually does. He then experienced sudden, severe pain in his stomach. He tried going to bathroom, but it didn’t provide any relief. He called his daughter and complained about the pain. She knew that her father wouldn’t complain unless it was serious, so she called 911.

EMS arrived at Mr. Romano’s home and took him to the closest hospital. He was seen in the emergency department where lab results revealed a “critical” lactate value of 4.4 and an elevated troponin. CT studies of the chest and abdomen/pelvis were ordered. The studies were interpreted by a radiologist. The radiologist reported no pulmonary embolism or bowel obstruction. Mr. Romano was admitted to the hospital with a working diagnosis of lactic acidosis and dehydration.

The attending physician requested consults from gastroenterology and cardiology. The cardiologist ruled out a heart condition as the cause of Mr. Romano’s symptoms, and the gastroenterologist ordered additional studies, including an ultrasound and upper endoscopy. Over the next few days, Mr. Romano’s condition worsened. Two days after he was admitted to the hospital, a critical care consult was ordered due to worsening shortness of breath and hypotension. Then a general surgery consult was obtained, and a repeat CT of the abdomen apparently showed a small bowel obstruction.

Three days after Mr. Romano was admitted to the hospital, he was taken to surgery, but it was too late. The surgeon attempted a laparoscopy, but it was impossible due to Mr. Romano’s distended bowel, so he proceeded with a laparotomy. Immediately upon entering the abdominal cavity the surgeon encountered a significant amount of blood and blood clots. Mr. Romano had global hypoperfusion of his entire small bowel, consistent with complete thrombosis of the superior mesenteric artery (“SMA”). There was no evidence, however, of bowel obstruction. It was clear at that point that Mr. Romano would not survive. He died the next day.

Building our Medical Error Case

Mr. Romano’s children hired The Eisen Law Firm to help them figure out what happened to their father. After obtaining all of the pertinent medical records and imaging studies from the hospital, it became apparent that the case involved complex medical issues and would require a significant investment of time and resources.

The Eisen Law Firm initially consulted with a physician who is board-certified in general surgery to discuss whether there were any breaches in the standard of care by the physicians at the hospital, and whether any such breaches were a proximate cause of Mr. Romano’s death. The physician found that: (a) the SMA blockage was evident on the initial imaging studies and should have been detected and reported; and (b) had the blockage been reported, Mr. Romano would have been taken immediately to surgery, the blockage would have been removed, the blood flow to Mr. Romano’s intestine would have been restored, and he would have survived.

The Eisen Law Firm then consulted with a board-certified radiologist to review the imaging studies. The expert confirmed that the SMA blockage should have been detected on the CT studies and reported by the radiologist, and he agreed to sign an Affidavit of Merit, which is required as a prerequisite for filing a medical negligence lawsuit.

The Eisen Law Firm and its attorneys then obtained and reviewed more than a dozen primary journal articles and textbook chapters on the medical issues implicated in the case, including diagnostic radiology, acute mesenteric ischemia, SMA blockage, and cirrhosis of the liver.

Our Medical Malpractice Case: Litigation

The Eisen Law Firm filed suit against the radiologist and his employer. The Complaint included claims for medical negligence and wrongful death. The defendants denied all the key allegations in the Complaint.

Written discovery included the exchange of thousands of pages of medical records, as well as multiple sets of interrogatories, requests for production of documents, and requests for admission. Attorney Brian Eisen then took the deposition of the defendant-radiologist. He was forced to concede that the SMA blockage is evident on the CT scans, though he maintained that the finding was not reasonably detectable prospectively. In other words, the radiologist claimed that although he sees the blockage looking at the films now, he only sees it because he now knows it is there, and it was not negligent to miss the finding at the time he reviewed the study.

The Eisen Law Firm focused on proving through its radiology expert that the failure to detect the blockage was, in fact, a clear breach of the standard of care. In other words, the blockage should have been identified by a competent radiologist acting with due care. The firm also focused on proving through its vascular surgery expert that Mr. Romano would have survived had proper, timely treatment been rendered. This was a difficult task because the medical literature indicates that nearly 70% of patients with an SMA blockage do not survive. However, by doing a deep dive into the literature, the firm was able to determine that most of the cases reported in the literature involve patients who did not present to the hospital until much later after the development of the blockage.

Our Medical Malpractice Case: Mediation and Settlement

After all of Mr. Romano’s expert witnesses were deposed, the parties attended a private mediation. Ultimately, the parties agreed to a confidential settlement.

This medical negligence/wrongful death case required a significant investment of time and resources. The Eisen Law Firm spent more than a year investigating and litigating this case, including the beginning phases of trial preparation. In addition, The Eisen Law Firm’s reputation as zealous advocates who are ready, willing, and able to go to trial on complicated medical negligence/wrongful death cases added significant value to the settlement of this matter.

The Romano children came to The Eisen Law Firm due to our reputation, and we once again proved worthy of our reputation. The Romano children wanted a boutique law firm to help them with their case and chose The Eisen Law Firm. Our practice is focused exclusively on cases of catastrophic injuries and wrongful death from medical negligence.