Verified Document

Malpractice And Tort Law Case Study

Tort Law One recent case of medical malpractice settled under tort law was that of Larkin v Dedham Medical Associates, which was concluded in 2015 in Norfolk Superior Court in Massachusetts. In this case, Larkin suffered a stroke hours after giving birth, and was paralyzed from the waist down as a result of this stroke.

Prior to the stroke, Larkin has run in the Boston Marathon, but suffered dizzy spells thereafter, and was admitted to Dedham Medical Associates with those symptoms. At this time, she was given MRI and CAT scans, which showed brain abnormalities. As such, Dedham was required to put Larkin on a "special list of patients with certain medical conditions that other doctors can access" (Andersen, 2015). However, her name was not put into this database. As such, her obstetrician was not aware of her brain issues. Had this information been known, Larkin would have been given a caesarian section because it would have been dangerous for her to be in labor. However, this did not occur and she went through labor, having a massive stroke shortly thereafter.

The physician, Dr. Johnson, had erred on other occasions, it was found. The imaging had revealed a large venous varix on the left side of her brain and an aneurysm on the right side. This was in 2004. In 2005, Larkin had returned to seek treatment regarding what was now ongoing dizziness. The same things were found in imaging. Larkin was to return for further imaging in 2006. There was dispute about this -- that Dr. Johnson did not order the imaging this time, or that he did but Larkin did...

In either case, the imaging was not done in 2006, nor was Larkin entered into the database. It was found that the OB/GYN office regularly checked Larkin's medical records, but Dr. Johnson had not reported the brain abnormalities to the appropriate records, so the OB/GYN did not know about the brain problems. During labor, a clot formed in the venous varix, leading to a severe hemorrhagic stroke.
It was found that, in addition to the failure to enter the information into the medical database, Dr. Johnson had not discussed the importance of the findings about Larkin's brain with her or her husband, so that they did not know the significance of those findings, and thus did not report them to the OB/GYN either. Dedham Medical Associates house policy demanded that Dr. Johnson put these problems into Larkin's files, but Dr. Johnson had repeatedly failed to do so, and as such Larkin was subject to natural birth which would not otherwise have been the case.

The defense argued that the error was with the OB/GYN's office. The defense argued that they were under obligation to review the entire medical records, not just the problem list. Had they done so, they would have noted the brain abnormalities, which were filed in Larkin's general file. Thus, the defense argued that the OB/GYN's office failed to provide adequate standard of care, while the plaintiff's lawyers argued that it was Dr. Johnson who failed to provide adequate standard of care, relating to the filing of the information about Larkin's brain. The defense further argued…

Sources used in this document:
References

Andersen, R. (2015). 7 years after stroke, paralyzed woman awarded $35 m. Boston Globe. Retrieved April 6, 2016 from https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/05/07/walpole-woman-awarded-million-medical-malpractice-case-lawyer-says/yxUOo2yzRNBZtVOzZSdvjL/story.html

VerdictSearch.com (2016). Suit: Doctor's failure to report brain abnormality led to stroke. VerdictSearch.com. Retrieved April 6, 2016 from http://verdictsearch.com/verdict/suit-doctors-failure-to-report-brain-abnormality-led-to-stroke/
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Tort Law in 1996, the
Words: 969 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

There are many in this case that should be taken to court in different capacities as liable parties. The school should be considered liable from the standpoint of not having the school grounds locked down during periods of time when the school is closed or they should have someone patrolling the grounds. The school is also responsible for checking the workmanship of the playground equipment and seeing if it is

Tort Law, Including the Pros and Cons
Words: 3115 Length: 10 Document Type: Essay

tort law, including the pros and cons of tort law and the importance of tort law in business environments. In addition the paper will investigate the potential effects of tort reform, and review cases related to tort law, and how it may affect American businesses and consumers. Tort law is an important issue to explore because it relates to the issues of product liability, negligence and financial gain or

New York State Tort Law Regarding Healthcare
Words: 1517 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Harriet Rose, etc., respondent, v Jonathan Zinberg, etc., appellant, et al., defendants (2015 NY Slip OP 04302 (N.Y. App. Div. 2015) (Casetext, Inc., 2015), a New York medical malpractice case for wrongful death based on delayed diagnosis. Bennett Rose, the decedent, had 3 colonoscopies on: January 3, 2003; December 14, 2006; and October 11, 2007. In each case, Rose had polyps that were removed but the diagnosis was that

Torts Tort Is a Wrongful
Words: 1838 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

However, this aspect of tort law does not apply equally to all areas of tort law. For example, under theories of intentional infliction of emotional distress, a tortfeasor's behavior has to shock the conscience of the court. That a particular victim is particularly sensitive does not increase a tortfeasor's liability. Finally, tort law does not always involve one wrongdoer and one victim. In fact, both parties can have some liability

Tort Reform
Words: 1421 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Tort Reform President Bush came into the White House with a history as a 'tort reformer.' True to his record, the President backed a 'tort reform' bill last year that was passed by the House of Representatives but floundered in a Democratic controlled Senate. The President has recently renewed his call for the legislature to approve a tort reform bill that relates mainly to medical malpractice. It remains to be seen

Tort Case "A Tort Is
Words: 571 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

In this case Anna's waiter would claim that he was acting in self-defense when he pulled the burning apron off of himself and discarded it. Elderly Lady v. Italian Restaurant Negligence Negligence is conduct which falls below the standard recognized by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risks of harm. The test is not whether the defendant intended to exercise due care, nor whether the defendant did the best he

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now