Medical Malpractice Follow Up Question

[Talib]

Hi,

A follow-up to:

"Looking at this situation in the worst light as far as you are concerned.......that you should have been suspicious and should have taken another look and then reported ruptured appendix(this is a stretch for sure), I still don't see a case worth pursuing. That is because of the issue of causation and damages which are legal requirements. On causation, assuming you were negligent, did that negligence cause this guy significant harm that would not have occured but for the negligence? I doubt it. Again, what did the brief delay in diagnosis result in? If you diagnosed the appendicitis when you saw the CT, would he have been in and out in a couple of days? No. He already ruptured. That's the argument anyhow.  So even if you were negligent, you didn't CAUSE him harm. If no "cause", there can be no DAMAGES.  Remember, you are not held to a standard that requires NO MISTAKES, NO MISJUDGMENTS, ALWAYS PERFECT AND CORRECT RESULTS. You are held to the STANDARD OF CARE. That means you handled the case no differently than any other reasonably compentent radiologist. Yes, some other radiologist might have had some extra time on their hands and decided on their own to look more closely or redo the scan and end up making a diagnosis that would not have been made in normal course on a busy day. But that is not the standard you need to meet.  Another way to look at it. If there was a textbook on how you should handle this case, did you do it by the book? If so, you were not negligent even if in hindsight if you did something differently the result would have been better.  What to expect? Firstly, if all there is at this point is a "notice", that doesn't mean necessarily that a lawsuit will actually be filed. They may have sent the notice to protect against the Statute of Limitations while they figure out whether there is a viable case. You should notify your insurance carrier immediately. They will investigate. You explain to your carrier how you met THE STANDARD OF CARE.  Don't become discouraged and convince yourself that you did something wrong just because some lawyer sends you a notice. Tell your carrier you followed the book. They case may disappear sooner than you think. If a suit is filed, a lawfirm will be hired to defend you. If you are the primary defendant, I can't believe that any lawyer would even file the case. They might want to go for the deep pockets of the hospital and you are just a very secondary target. Again, don't sweat this. The financial risk to you in the worst case is whatever personal deductible that you carry. Probably $5,000 more or less. You might have to pay that according to policy terms just to help defray defense costs. You can handle that I'm sure. Of course, you don't want a settlement or judgment against you regardless of cost because it probably gets listed somewhere and might impact your career in a minor way. In worst case, you will have very seasoned lawyers defending you and chances of the plaintiff prevailing are quite slim. I would bet you right now that the case never gets filed."

Thanks for your response. Unfortunately, the plaintiff has filed suit against me regarding this case.  In their suit, they had an expert claim I missed the finding. My lawyer sent the images to our expert, and are awaiting word.  

What usually happens now for me? What kind of timeline is there?  The plaintiff, a lawyer, is apparently very litigous.  This is kind of unreal, since that a stone protocol ct was done for left flank pain(opposite side of appendix) and I reported that the appendix was not definitively identified, and am still being sued.  

[Cory]

I don't recall the specifics of the original question from several weeks ago. You have legal representation and your lawyer should have intimate knowledge of what happened here.  So, do not hesitate to speak with your lawyer. He is working for you regardless of who is paying him and owes you full disclosure of everything. I still don't recall what "damage" the patient suffered. Arguably, if the alleged negligence was the cause of turning a simple appendectomy into a case of a ruptured appendix, as long as there was no major perotinitis or other serious injury, I just don't see any damages here. Again, you are insured, 90% of such cases are either settled or dismissed prior to any kind of trial, your expert may absolve you completely based on the standard of care, this will cool the heels of the plaintiff and I still think the case will go away. I don't know where you are or the rules in your State but the case only can settle with your consent and if it is under $30,000.00 it never gets reports. I bet you settle your case for $29,999.00 which is about $29,000.00 than the plaintiff deserves. Take it easy. This is very survivable.