VA Medical Malpractice: Radiologists Fails to Diagnose Enlargement of Aneurysm | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

A radiologist recently settled a wrongful death claim for $500,000.00 in a case where it was alleged that he failed to properly diagnose an enlarging aortic aneurysm.  The Plaintiff was forty-seven years old with a known history or thoracic aneurysm (an enlarging aorta).

He presented to the Emergency Department complaining of back pain and nausea. The Emergency Room physician ordered CT Scan studies of his chest to rule out any changes in the known aortic aneurysm.  The radiologist who reviewed the CT Scan studies reported that there was no apparent change in the pre-existing aortic aneurysm and the Plaintiff was discharged to home.

He died five days later of a ruptured aortic aneurysm. After his death, his CT studies were examined by hospital doctors, and later by the Plaintiff’s attorney’s experts and it was determined that those CT Scans showed an enlarging aortic aneurysm.

Emergency Departments in Norfolk, Virginia, Virginia Beach, Virginia, Chesapeake, Virginia and Suffolk, Virginia are all very busy. Accordingly, if someone goes to the Emergency Department with complaints of back pain and nausea, it is important that the patient and his family ask numerous questions of the Emergency Room doctor who is evaluating them to make sure that all of their tests, x-rays, MRIs, CT Scans and other tests have been thoroughly and properly reviewed.