MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASE OF DOCTOR’S DEATH CONTINUES

A few hours before a 26-year-old doctor died on May 29, 2013, of a brain hemorrhage, doctors and physician assistants were still trying to determine what was wrong. Some thought it was brain swelling, others thought it was an infection and still more thought that it was a blood clot or a platelet disorder. The woman died after a major vein in her head burst due to a blood clot.

The woman’s attending physician testified in a court in the medical malpractice trail that she ordered a CT scan because the woman had a history of headaches and her platelets were dropping. Even though the physician put a rush on the CT scan, it would take another hour for it to be done. The doctor said she thought the woman was having some type of neurological emergency in her testimony given at a deposition. However, when she was on the stand, she said she didn’t think it was an emergency.

It would take about four hours for the woman to have an MRI done. When the woman was first admitted to the hospital, her platelet level was “off the charges.” It’s not known why this test wasn’t repeated for two days. The physician’s assistant said that she thought the woman might have been having a stroke. Once the woman started to experience tunnel vision, the physician’s assistant said that was a symptom of a stroke, too.

The rapid response stroke team was not summoned for the woman, because the physician’s assistant said in court that the woman’s neurological exam seemed normal to her.

This case is likely to be in court for the next several days and there are many people who are watching the outcome. If you wish to learn more about medical malpractice, you’ll find a terrific source of information in your local Pennsylvania attorney.

Source: The Times-Tribune, “Doctor: Sidari’s symptoms baffled medical staff hours after her arrival,” James Halpin, March 04, 2016