Chest pain mistaken as bronchitis
A woman’s coronary disease is overlooked due in part to her history of phantom symptoms.
All articles by Case histories by David S. Starr, MD, JD
Will going bare mean going broke?
After practicing internal medicine for 25 years, Dr. B began preparing for retirement. He cut back his hours and transferred many of his assets to a trust for his wife and children. In order to expedite his plan, he cut expenses where he could. Unfortunately, he lived in a state with…
Family sues after woman skips pills
Are you responsible for a patient’s noncompliance? A plaintiff’s lawyer will try to convince a jury you are.
Are you prescribing or dealing?
Legal and professional authorities frown on clinicians who try to offer rehab on their own.
Shotgun suits wound everyone
When the biopsy result turned out to be a false positive, the patient took aim at all of her doctors.
Jury doesn’t always have the final say
A judge overrules the verdict when it ignores evidence that a clinician failed to heed a crucial test. Dr. J, 62, was a primary-care physician in a small northeastern town. Disturbed by the changes in medical practice over the past 15 years, he was looking forward to retiring in a few months until a malpractice…
With TIAs, timing is everything
Seemingly stable after transient ischemic attacks, a patient was actually just days away from disaster. Mr. G, 54, was an experienced physician assistant in a small family practice. Most of his patients in this rural clinic were retired and elderly, so his caseload had a high proportion of cardiovascular disease. One of these established patients—a…
Too much empathy can backfire
When a clinician identifies with a patient’s condition, objectivity may be lostand mistakes become likely. Dr. F, 58, was planning to retire in a few years and go to work for an international medical charity. Because she had never been sued, she believed she was at low risk for facing a malpractice claim at this…
Appendicitis masked by constipation
Would the suggested pelvic exam have detected the problem in time to prevent appendiceal rupture? Dr. T was busily growing a family practice in a suburb in the Southwest. A 20-year-old woman came to him complaining of distension and cramping, which she noted had occurred previously in an ongoing struggle with constipation. Her abdomen seemed…
Family’s fear complicates E. coli case
When immigrants provide bogus contact information, clinicians can’t follow up on dangerous test results. Mrs. C, 35, had been a physician assistant for two years at a clinic in a large urban hospital. The clinic attracted a significant number of immigrant patients. That posed no problems for Mrs. C—until a patient’s mother left false contact…
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