Case Report: Negligent failure to appropriately interpret CAT Scan (CT)
(Excerpts taken with permission from Minnesota Trial Lawyer Association’s (MTLA) “Minnesota Case Reports”)
K.H. came to the emergency room in September 2003 for an abrupt onset of severe headache with nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, and sinus pressure and neck pain. A physical exam and a CAT Scan were conducted. Two radiologists reviewed the films, one via teleradiology, (means of electronically transmitting radiographic patient images from one location to another) and one at the metropolitan hospital the day after the CAT Scan. Both reported no abnormalities on the CAT Scan. K.H was diagnosed with migraine headache and she was discharged with pain medications and an order to follow up with her family physician.
At the follow up appointment, the family physician noted Emergency Room records and a normal CAT Scan and recommended further evaluation if her symptoms persisted. K.H. had no further symptoms. Five weeks later, K.H. was found by her husband collapsed on the floor at home. A ruptured brain aneurysm (an abnormal widening or ballooning of a section of a blood vessel) was diagnosed. Repeat CAT Scan showed significant bleeding in the brain. Imaging showed four aneurysms, one ruptured requiring immediate surgical repair.
At the time of her corrective surgery, a review of the CAT Scan performed in September showed evidence of four aneurysms. K.H. remained hospitalized for two months followed by a second operation to clip the remaining two unruptured aneurysms. As a result of her brain hemorrhage, K.H. has been left with significant, permanent cognitive impairment requiring 24 hour per day monitoring and assistance with all activities of daily living. Rehabilitation efforts failed.