Case of Medical Malpractice Leads to License Revocation

Rick is a Virginia injury attorney who handles car accidents, medical malpractice, FELA, wrongful death, etc.

1/12/2011
Richard N. Shapiro
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Case of Medical Malpractice Leads to License Revocation

On August 20, 2009, the Virginia Board of Medicine issued an order permanently revoking a physician's medical license. This revocation was in regards to the physician’s treatment of a 75-year-old patient with a history of radiation therapy for prostate cancer.

The physician was a urologist at the Southwest Virginia Medical Center in Richlands, Virginia (VA), who treated the patient between October 2004 and October 2006 thirteen times. During these visits, the patient complained of hematuria and discomfort while urinating.

The Board of Medicine found that the physician did not take into account the patient’s “history, symptoms, and a finding of atypical cells” while performing a urine cytology in October of 2004.

The result was that the physician failed to order necessary diagnostic tests that would have shown the cause of the patient’s hematuria. By December of 2006, the patient had developed high-grade muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma, an extremely aggressive form of cancer. When he was last heard from, the patient’s prognosis was considered poor.

While I’m glad this complaint was taken seriously by the Board of Medicine, it does not excuse the doctor's behavior, or offer any assistance to the patient. That man’s life, and the lives of his friends and family, have been permanently and negatively altered due to a physician’s failure to diagnose.

Along with medical malpractice cases involving failure to treat, failure to diagnose is one of the main reasons that victims seek the assistance of a qualified attorney. If you suffer a painful, chronic, or irreversible condition and suspect it was due to medical negligence, a capable legal firm may be able to get compensation for your loss.

IW

Category: Medical Malpractice/Doctor Mistakes

Labels: cancer doctor lawyer license malpractice medical physician Virginia

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a Virginia injury law firm whose attorneys focus on personal injury and accident law and have extensive experience handling medical malpractice and doctor mistake cases. Please take a few moments to review our medical malpractice case results. We have offices in Virginia Beach and Hampton, VA, but we're ready to come to you anywhere in Virginia, including Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Newport News and Suffolk, VA, if you've been seriously hurt by the carelessness of a doctor, surgeon, nurse or pharmacist.

Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been recognized as among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. Also, Rick and Jim have been named Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law since 2010. Fewer than 5 percent of lawyers are chosen for this professional honor.

Members of our VA personal injury law firm have also been selected by the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009. In addition, we were the first injury law firm in Virginia to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical and respected law firms. Our VA medical malpractice firm has the highest rating of AV from Martindale-Hubbell, a national lawyer ranking organization, which means we have a reputation for preeminent legal skill.

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