Classic post: A malpractice trial where a physician misdiagnosed gall bladder disease for irritable bowel syndrome

March 2005 – A case where a little defensive medicine would have saved this physician:

The physician tried to rely his clinical acumen to make the diagnosis: “Doctors are not magicians or wizards. They can only base their result on what they hear.”
This got him into trouble by missing the gallbladder disease. It would have possibly saved the patient, and kept the physician out of the courtroom, had he just ordered an ultrasound instead of relying on the history and physical. Chalk up another point for defensive medicine.

Comments

mchebert
Oh, I don’t know that the issue here is defensive medicine. IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion, that is, a diagnosis that can only be made after all other likely causes of illness have been ruled out.
This doctor’s error is not that he releid on his physical exam. HIs error is that he used a diagnosis he is not allowed to make without excluding gallbladder disease.
On the other hand, if the guy didn’t die, what is he suing for? If he wasn’t getting any better from the first treatment, he should have gone back or sought a second opinion.
In cases like this, I don’t think a patient should be allowed to sue a doctor if he did not pursue a second opinion. Sitting at home in pain makes him just as dumb as his doctor. At some point a patient has to shoulder responsibility for his own health.
Anonymous
Should have referred the patient to GI…patient gets egd, colonoscopy, ultrasound, then surgery…everyone is happy except the patient who now has a sore rectum…
Anonymous
What is going on with the physician terror gang? Almost every website has some form of threatened economic terrorism/extortion by the AMA with advertisements scaring old people.
Anonymous
More bad news. Idiot jury in NOLA rakes Merck over the coals while giving prescribing dieties a free pass on actually knowing about what they are prescribing. Idolators and dieties are not a good combination for real justice in the American legal system.
Anonymous
Idolaters? Deities? You obviously mean the sodomizing, rich, greedy trial lawyers. Thank God you finally saw the light, lol.
Anonymous
Doing too much of your own meds again? Eh? I am talking about the “Dr” 90210 dirtbags who can’t seem to man the gate, when it comes to gatekeeping, at least on the responsibility side. It is just baffling how the idolators out there can buy the “wah. wah. wah. The drug company didn’t tell me about the risks, so please don’t hold me responsible” cr*p from the providers.
Anonymous
Anonymous 10:17 – there are very few serious side effects from haloperidol, and the risk is negligible, even with high doses. So perhaps you ought to fill your prescription after all
Anonymous
We knew about the risks…but what the f*** do we care about some fat old fart like you…so what, you have a GI bleed, MI, we send you to the hospital, scope and catheterize you, and we all make money! Have fun…
Anonymous
6:24. Could you please get a new routine. You use to entertain us with this stuff but now it is so old. Maybe you could take a vacation or something and get some new material while you are gone?
No one believes you’re a doctor so give it a break already.
Anonymous
6:24 actually has it right. We all need to see more frank talk from providers along this lines. Perhaps the idolizing idiot sheeple will finally get a clue then. Remember do no harm only applies to the provider’s pocketbook and social status – f**k the patients… unless they are some cash cow elderly. Then procedure them to death while raking in the cash and perhaps threaten them by taking away their access to healthcare until they bombard the idiot politicians with demands for even more special privileges for physicians.
Anonymous
ahh crazy doc and doc hater are once again using the same crack pipe. Puff away.
Anonymous
No… we are too busy sending your mother out to work the stroll for us. Now there is someone who is “really” hitting the crackpipe.
In a way, it is alomost as sad as watching Al Quida in America, known as the AMA, terrorizing old folks when it comes to access to care unless the same said old folks don’t act as proxies for the MDieties when it comes to stopping Medicaid Cuts.
Anonymous
Anon 10:39 AM,
Your diety routine has really gotten tiresome, as has your terrorist comparisons. The latter descrition actually fits ATLA (AlQuaida Triallawyers in America). Anyway, you’ve done it again – screwed up the facts. Medicaid pays shit, if not less, and most docs don’t even take it anymore. It’s MediCARE that’s the issue, morondiety. And by the way, the “sheeple” elderly who I care for actually believe docs should be paid more, and many have told me they’d still come to see me if I ever decided to drop Medicare. They see the crappy reimbursements I get, and agree that something needs to be done. Besides, morondiety, it’s a free market, and I don’t have to take the shit reimbursement Uncle Sam gives me. My patients blame the government, not the AMA.
Anonymous
sounds like morondeity needs some colace/dulcolax/mom/etc…
I love how he talks about “old folks” as if he is not one of them…see you next time in the hospital, old fart…can’t wait to get my hands on you…
Anonymous
The self-serving “medicine, magic, miracles” scuts wouldn’t realize Bin Laden, if he sat next to them and detonated a block of C4. You can clap each other on the backs for the lack of public outrage when it comes to the Al Quida in America’s (AMA) latest add threating the old folks and extorting them until they contact Congress and demand special privilages for clinicians. Any plebeian that buys into this latest Jesse Jacksonesque AMA hussle deserves the malpractice that is heaped upon them.
Anonymous
Will you put out that crack pipe doc hater.
Anonymous
It is actually patrician, monopolist, special interest, allopath disliker more so than the general “doc hater” that the son of the crack addicted prostitute is referencing. BTW, why would one smoke crack cocaine when one can legally obtain any of a host of legal drugs from the local Al Quida in America member by simply whining about subjective pain complaints?
Anonymous
blah blah blah.
Your tirade aside I am referring to YOU.
Now exhale and take another hit.
Anonymous
And I was referring to your disease ridden 50 cents a pop crack whore mother. Would you like to try again Al Quida in America supporter?
Anonymous
exhale the crack, doc hater..your holding it in too long.

Classic post: A malpractice trial where a physician misdiagnosed gall bladder disease for irritable bowel syndrome

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