The human body is a complex structure with all parts working together. As such, it may be difficult to determine what part is actually malfunctioning based on a Connecticut patient’s symptoms alone, making it necessary for health care providers to perform appropriate diagnostic tests. Unfortunately, parents in another state claim in a medical malpractice lawsuit that a doctor’s failure to do so resulted in the removal of their young son’s testicle.
Court papers indicate that the child’s mother took her soon to the emergency room in June 2016. He was reportedly suffering from testicular pain. However, she claims that the doctor who examined the boy diagnosed him with constipation without looking at the testicle.
When she sought additional treatment days later, doctors performed an ultrasound that revealed he was suffering from testicular torsion, which results in a loss of blood flow to the testicle. Reports indicate that the condition requires immediate surgery. Unfortunately, because surgery was delayed in this situation, the boy was already showing signs necrosis, or cell death, when he was diagnosed. The parents claim that they received a letter of apology for the misdiagnosis from one of the hospital’s vice presidents.
Unfortunately, a misdiagnosis can ultimately have a significant impact on a person’s life. As such, medical care providers must do all that they can to ensure that proper tests are run to ensure they determine the exact issue. If a person in Connecticut or other area of the country does become a victim of medical malpractice, filing a personal injury lawsuit may be the best option to seek a monetary settlement that could potentially ensure medical expenses are paid and that action is taken to prevent similar mistakes in the future.