We were recently contacted by a few clients who had suffered a pulmonary embolism while in the care of a doctor.
One of the critical issues present in a possible PE misdiagnosis is whether the treating doctor ignored important evidence that a patient was about to suffer a PE.
Because this medical condition can mimic other medical conditions, it is important that patients be sure to explain to their doctors all of their complaints.
WHAT IS A PULMONARY EMBOLISM?
Essentially a pulmonary embolism is a medical condition in which one or more of the arteries which lead to the lungs becomes blocked.
A blood clot occurs and that clot can travel into the lungs causing a serious medical condition.
A RECENT CALL WE RECEIVED…
This individual contacted us because they had an appointment to see their doctor due to breathing issues.
A few weeks prior they had suffered a cold and was congested.
The doctor did a physical examination on the patient, took a history, and listened to the patient’s complaints.
After performing the proper workup on the patient the doctor diagnosed the patient with bronchitis and noted that the patient was still suffering from remnants of the cold.
As a result, medication was prescribed for the patient.
The patient was back to the doctor a week later complaining of the same complaints as earlier.
During this visit the doctor did another physical examination of the patient and noted that the patient did not have any complaints of leg pain or any type of muscle pain.
The doctor explained to the patient that the medication needed time to work.
A TRIP TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM
The next day the patient presented to the hospital because of the shortness of breath.
However, it was at this time the patient had severe pain in the leg and calf.
The patient had never experienced this pain before.
Hearing this information, along with the patient’s other complaints other tests were done.
It was immediately discovered that the patient was suffering from a pulmonary embolism, and associated complications.
When the case was analyzed through the patient’s medical records it was revealed that at the time the initial doctor examined our client, there were no complaints which would have lead the doctor to think that a pulmonary embolism was lurking.
WHY WE DECLINED THE CASE
One red flag that doctor must be aware of when patients have complaints close to a pulmonary embolism is leg pain and this was not an issue at all for our client until the day he presented to the ER.
If we would have taken this case, our expert would have had to admit that our client did not present initially with complaints which would have alerted the treating doctor that a pulmonary embolism was imminent.
As a result, our client would have more than likely not had a good outcome if this case had when to trial.
HAVE YOU SUFFERED A PULMONARY EMBOLISM?
If you have suffered a pulmonary embolism and you think that you did display clear signs that it was about to happen and your doctor ignored the signs, and you have suffered a serious injury as a result of this, this is what we invite you to do.
Pick up the phone and give us a call.
It costs you nothing to call us.
We can be reached at 301-850-4832.
We answer Maryland medical malpractice questions like yours all the time and we would be glad to listen to your story.
