More details to this question:
On March 12, 2013, I had my husband to take me to Kernodle Clinic at Alamance Regional Hospital. My main complaint was that my feet and ankles were swollen. Dr. Eric Wallace was the physician that saw me. I was also having trouble breathing. He sent me to have x-rays done. When the x-rays were finished he told me that if I had waited any longer that I would have ended up with pneumonia. He did not give me a diagnosis. He gave me prescriptions for Prednisone, Cherry tussin, and an antibiotic. He also gave me a doctor's note that I could not return to work until March 14, 2013. On March 14, 2013 I was feeling worse. I could hardly breathe. I called my regular doctor to see what would what make my feet and ankles swell; my doctor's nurse told me that it could be my sodium intake or a lot of things. She told me if I was really worried to go to Next Care Urgent Care on S. Church Street. I then had my husband to take me there. When I finally made it in to Next Care the nurse seen I was in distress and seen that my feet & ankles were swollen. He told me that I would need to go to ER because my breathing was bad & my feet and ankles were swollen it could be something with my heart. As soon as I got to the hospital they rushed me to the back they started numerous tests and I was told after they took x-rays that I had congestive heart failure that fluid had built up on my lungs, ankles and feet but I don't understand why Kernodle Clinic took x-rays and didn't see the fluid. My Cardiologist Dr. Shaukat Khan was upset because he said that I should have come to him.
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John J. Ratkowitz
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Swollen ankles and trouble breathing are hallmark signs of congestive heart failure and so it is hard to understand why you were not diagnosed with that condition when you initially visited the hospital. At the same time, I do not believe the delay in diagnosing the condition caused additional medical harm and so under the circumstances you probably do not have a financially viable medical malpractice case.
Medical malpractice cases are very costly and time consuming for lawyers to pursue, and in most circumstances attorneys will not take them on unless a patient suffered a significant permanent injury that causes substantial disability as a result of the medical mistake.
Below are some articles you may find helpful. They are written for a New Jersey audience (where I practice) but the ideas discussed in these articles usually apply in most other jurisdictions as well.
Click here for an article that discusses the three main questions I ask when deciding whether to investigate a potential medical malpractice case. This discusses the issue of financial viability.
Click here for an article that explains what you can and should expect when pursuing a medical malpractice case.
Click here, here and here for more information about me. Click here for summaries of some of the cases that I have litigated.
Since I am a lawyer, I need to advise you of the following when I communicate with you: Please note that by attempting to answer your question, I am not acting as your attorney. I will do nothing further to protect or preserve your interests in the absence of any additional discussion with you about this matter. John Ratkowitz, Esq. Starr, Gern, Davison & Rubin, P.C. 105 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland, NJ 07068 Office: (973) 830-8441 Cell: (732) 616-6278 Fax: (973) 226-0031 Email: jratkowitz@starrgern.com Skype: john_ratkowitz Click here for my website.
Answered on Apr 07th, 2013 at 4:23 PM