Failure to diagnose appendicitis

Failure to diagnose appendicitis. Our client presented to the Emergency Department with abdominal pain and vomiting. Rather than performing a CT scan or an ultrasound, the Emergency Department doctor sent her home telling her to follow up with her primary care doctor.

The primary doctor relied on incorrect information entered into her chart by a medical assistant and claimed that because she did not report abdominal pain, his diagnosis of a simple viral illness was correct. In fact, a review of the computerized billing records showed that he had recorded abdominal pain, an important sign that she was suffering from appendicitis.

After she was sent home, her symptoms seemed to resolve, and she was able to return to college out of state after the Christmas holidays. In fact, her appendix had burst and when she went to the hospital in the city where her college was located it was found she had severe sepsis that required surgery and extensive antibiotic treatment.

Had she delayed going to the hospital, she would have died. The doctor who treated her agreed to testify on her behalf and said that both the Emergency Department doctor and her primary care doctor were at fault.