Radiology Malpractice

Radiology malpractice, as in any malpractice lawsuit, can be charged for many reasons. Some of these include:

Failure to diagnose a condition or disease
Misdiagnosis of a condition or disease, i.e., mistaking one condition for another
Failure to use the appropriate method of diagnosis
Causing an allergic reaction to an injectable dye or contrast agent

Treatment errors, including:

Treating a patient for a wrong condition because of a misdiagnosis
A failure to properly perform a procedure or treat the patient medically
Causing an allergic reaction when using a contrast agent or dye
Failing to recognize the potential for error and as a result, not proceeding with appropriate caution
Using the wrong treatment modality

When diagnosing a patient, a radiologist may miss seeing a condition or structure on an x-ray, or mammogram, for example. If the radiologist mistakes one condition for another, the follow-up treatment will be inappropriate.

Different radiologic methods are used for diagnosing different conditions. Different tissues of the body such as bones, muscles, soft tissue, or perhaps tumors each have their appropriate methods of diagnosis. Failing to use the right method can mean failing to diagnose a condition. Some of the different areas of diagnostic radiology include the following:

X-ray
MRI molecular resonance imaging)
CT (computed tomography)
Ultrasound
Nuclear medicine techniques
Fluoroscopy

Delayed Diagnosis and Treatment

Waiting too long to diagnose and treat a condition can be other grounds for medical malpractice. For example, in the case of a women whose breast cancer diagnosis and treatment were delayed, the Iowa Supreme Court, in a 1986 ruling, elaborated on mental anguish, pain, and suffering (DeBurkarte v Louvar):

“The pain and suffering which the law allows is not confined to physical pain. It includes as well the mental anguish, the sense of loss and burden, the loss of enjoyment of life suffered by a person who is materially disabled...[and] depriving [the patient] of the opportunity to receive early treatment and a chance at realizing any resulting gain in her life expectancy and physical and mental comfort.”

Interventional radiology, or radiological methods such as radiation therapy or doing a procedure such as a balloon angiography, also is subject to malpractice claims. There are as many potential errors in interventional radiology as there are methods of treatment.

Contact a Connecticut Medical Malpractice Lawyer

If you believe you have been a victim of radiology malpractice, you should seek the counsel of a medical malpractice attorney in Connecticut. The lawyers at The Berkowitz Law Firm are highly experienced in medical malpractice law, including radiology malpractice. Call (866) 314-9352 or send us an email to schedule an evaluation of your case.

Stamford, CT Office

1010 Washington Blvd.
9th Floor
Stamford, Connecticut 06901

Phone: 866-314-9352
Fax: 203-324-5067

Danbury, CT Office

57 North Street Suite 206
Danbury, Connecticut 06810-5627

Phone: 203-730-1100

Bridgeport, CT Office

855 Main Street
Bridgeport, Connecticut 06604

Phone: 203-331-1940

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$4,750,000.00 medical malpractice award on behalf of a child who sustained brain damage as a result of a hospital's negligent airway management.
$4,000,000.00 medical malpractice verdict against a gynecologist who caused the plaintiff to undergo a hysterectomy following a negligent surgical procedure and destroyed her ability to bear children.
$3,000,000.00 medical malpractice recovery against an anesthesiologist whose negligent administration of spinal anesthesia left an infant plaintiff profoundly brain damaged.
$3,000,000.00 medical malpractice settlement on behalf of a brain damaged newborn against a hospital as a result of the hospital's failure to timely deliver said newborn despite signs and symptoms of fetal distress.
$2,600,000.00 wrongful death verdict against a family practitioner and a urologist whose failure to timely diagnose prostate cancer led to the plaintiff's death.
$2,500,000.00 settlement against a radiologist for his failure to timely diagnose the plaintiff's spinal tumor which progressed to metastatic late stage cancer.
$2,450,000.00 total award against a hospital for its failure to properly restrain a hospital psychiatric patient who jumped out of a hospital window and fell three stories sustaining a permanent brain injury.
$2,300,000.00 medical malpractice settlement against a hospital following its failure to diagnose a bacterial infection causing a child to go into respiratory arrest and without oxygen for 20 minutes leading to the child's brain damage.