Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in New Jersey

Delayed diagnosis and treatment

Husband was admitted to hospital in april due to severe back pain and 104 temp. did blood cultures and found septicemia. Doc said back pain was unrelated and felt it was muscular. (husband is also diabetic) He was treared with iv levaquin in hospital for 6 days and sent home with 5 more days of levaquin by mouth. Saw his Doc 3 days later and still complained of back pain and was again told muscular. Three weeks later, developed 103 temp again and very severe back pain. Again was admitted to hospital. This time infectious disease Doc called in and ordered MRI stat( infectious disease Doc not called in on first admission nor was MRI done) Infectious disease Doc could not understand why this was not done on first admission. Next day ID Doc diagnosed epidural abscess ( L4 - L5 spreading into hip) After 10 days in hospital on IV rocephin he had a pic line inserted and was sent home with Iv infusions daily. He is still receiving IV infusions daily. Last Mri shows some slight improvement ( thank god) ID doc said the reason he had exacerbation was because first treatment was incorrect for this diagnosis. On first admission we were told that they could not tell us where infection was coming from!!!!!!!!! Your opinion please!!!!


Asked on 8/04/05, 8:52 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Arthur Newmark Arthur Newmark, M.D.. Esq

Re: Delayed diagnosis and treatment

If you are considering a medical malpractice suit, you should contact an attorney immediately. All medical malpractice suits have time limits. In some cases, NJ requires early notice to the facility you are contemplating suing, so it is even more important to act early. (The attorney(s) you contact can advise you on this).

If what you say is true, first doctor delivered substandard care - BACK PAIN plus FEVER plus INFECTION calls for an investigation of the source of the infection - with MRI or CT Scan.

That said, in order to pursue a lawsuit, an attorney, in consultation with appropriate consultants, must determine that the delayed diagnosis significantly altered the outcome.

There are two conditions that must be met for your husband to have a lawsuit worth pursuing:

#1 - He must have significant damages - As he is still under treatment, this is unclear, as he may turn out OK, in which case, the damages may be minimal.

#2 - The delayed diagnosis must have caused significant problems. This may be problematic in this case,

Oral Levaquin is a fairly powerful antibiotic. Even though it may not have been the ideal drug for this infection, it is possible that if the dose was high enough AND if the bacteria was SENSITIVE to Levaquin, (two BIG but possible "ifs") a JURY might be convinced that this drug prevented worsening, whether or not it actually did.

I am currently on vacation, and would not be the person to work on this case, but in light of the questionable medical care, I suggest that you contact an attorney with medical malpractice experience now if you are considering a lawsuit. You can find such an attorney on this list, in your local Yellow Pages, or you local Bar Association referral service.

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Answered on 8/04/05, 10:45 pm


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