People make mistakes. However, for doctors and medical professionals, a simple mistake or misinterpretation can endanger the patient’s life. In the event of medical malpractice, Illinois victims can turn to a Chicago medical malpractice professional to claim compensation.
An Edwardsville, Illinois, man filed a medical malpractice lawsuit due to a failure to diagnose and medical negligence in connection with the death of his 56-year-old father. The complainant filed the lawsuit against Anderson Hospital and its emergency physician after consulting another Chicago, Illinois, doctor. According to the second doctor, the emergency physician failed to diagnose the real condition of his patient and render proper care.
In June 2011, the defendant physician evaluated the patient, who, in his first visit to the emergency room, complained of chest pain and had an elevated pulse. The man was treated and released. On his second visit to the ER, the patient complained about back pain and asked to be admitted in the hospital. The patient was treated for pleurisy and advised to consult with his pain management doctor. Unfortunately, the man was discovered dead the next day, and an autopsy showed that he died of acute inflammation of lungs.
Doctors who wrongly diagnose a patient’s condition may face a medical malpractice suit. Doctors and other medical professionals are required to a apply standard of care in their practices, and failing to do so may be considered negligence.
If negligence is proven to have contributed to a patient’s injuries or death, the victim or the surviving family may file a claim for compensation. Victims of medical malpractice, particularly a failure to diagnose, may be entitled to compensation for all related expenses, lost wages and emotional damage.
Source: The Telegraph, “Suit alleges hospital, doctor negligent in man’s death,” Sanford J. Schmidt, March 27, 2013.