Expert Witness Case #2
This case concerns a 68-year-old man, referred to as Mr. A.
He had a history of previous myocardial infarction and was cared for by his primary care doctor.
After a long period of limited follow-up, his PCP encouraged him to see his cardiologist (Dr. H) after noting “more prominent ST-T wave abnormalities”.
The patient was interested in taking his health more seriously, so he set up an appointment with the cardiology office (he was asymptomatic).
At the appointment he was seen by a nurse practitioner (Ms. M), who ordered a stress test.
The patient was given numerous possible dates for the stress test, and scheduled it 22 days later.
The patient was able to complete the stress test without much difficulty.
He was discharged home and advised to follow-up with his cardiologist Dr. H for the results.
The cardiologist present in the building during the stress test was Dr. P (although not directly involved in his care and was never called to the bedside).
The stress test was interpreted by Dr. B:
Dr. B forwarded the report to Dr. H, and placed a copy on his desk.
One week later, Mr. A was playing golf with a friend.
He made it to hole 18, where he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest.
He was rushed to the nearest ED.
He made it to the cath lab but tragically died.
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A lawsuit was filed against all 3 cardiologists.
The plaintiff hired 3 expert witnesses.
One of them wrote the following opinion:
The defense hired an expert who responded.
The defense attorney’s summary is shown here:
The lawsuit was filed in early 2018.
A trial is scheduled for 2023.
The patient’s wife was the primary plaintiff, but she passed away in December 2019.
The plaintiff’s attorney has continued the lawsuit.
MedMalReviewer Opinion:
This case illustrates the importance of communication. The crux of the issue will center around the appropriate speed of communication for a positive stress test result with an asymptomatic patient.
The patient’s cardiologist Dr. H was sued. It is unclear if he was even aware that a stress test was ordered, and he did not sign the results until after the patient’s death. There is a chance he loses a large verdict or settlement despite never knowing his NP ordered the test, let alone being notified of the critical results.
As is often the case, the nurse practitioner was not sued. Plaintiff’s attorneys are well aware that extracting a large settlement from an NP is unlikely, and generally choose to sue the physicians instead.
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Specialties Involved: Cardiology
Synopsis: Patient seen by his cardiologist with shortness of breath. Catheterization scheduled in 2 weeks. Patient has cardiac arrest and dies the next day.
Mind boggling that the APRN was not sued. And what is the plaintiff's attorney going to do with the money? Was there a trust/charitable account set up by the wife?