Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in California
Missing abnormal results on laboratory study
I saw a new doctor. I complained of general fatigue, joint pain, and a lump in my upper abdomen. The doctor ordered blood work. When the results came back he wrote me a letter, that the results were fine except for elevated cholesterol and tryglycerides. He diagnosed a ventricle hernia and told me to lose weight. He told me that I would not require surgery for the hernia. On the Internet I found that these hernias require surgery. I saw another Internist. I got a copy of the lab results that the first doctor had done on me. When I reviewed the lab results, I found that my glucose was reported as 159 (abnormally high)on the report, which suggested a diagnosis of diabetes. His letter had stated that this test was normal. This first doctor completely missed the abnormal finding reported on the lab report. My second internist scheduled me for a hemoglobin 1AC test, which confirmed that I had diabetes. If I had not felt ''uncomfortable'' about this first doctor, I would never known that I had diabetes. Is this considered medical negligence or medical malpractice, and should I report the doctor to the AMA, or is there any legal recourse available here? I don't trust any doctor now. Thanks for your input.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Missing abnormal results on laboratory study
Missing an abnormal lab result could be construed as negligence or the failure to meet the applicable standard of care, i.e., would a physician of normal standard in the community have correctly interpreted the results?
However, to sustain a medical negligence action, there must not only be medical negligence, there must also be causation (evidence that the negligence caused an injury) and damages (actual damages as a result of the injury.) From a purely "legal" and "lawsuit recovery" standpoint, you have suffered no injury.
While it is highly unfortunate that the first physician missed the abnormal results, the "good" news is that you likely suffered no damage as a result. While you may think that your diabetes is an injury, it was not caused by the doctor's failure to diagnose it. You would have to establish that, as a result of not diagnosing the diabetes earlier, you incurred a SPECIFIC injury thereby.
If you would like the doctor to explain this failure to you, ask him/her. Either write a letter or ask for an appointment to discuss the situation. Alternative avenues are the Medical Board of the Hospital(if this occurred in a hospital)the Medical Association of the County in which the doctor practices, or California Medical Association. All of these groups have peer review capabilities that may wish to investigate why this event happened and how to prevent it from happening to someone else.
Best of luck with your future treament which should receive the brunt of your attention at this time.
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