Orthopedic Malpractice Lawsuit Filed Over Failure to Diagnose Blood Clots

An Indiana couple has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a orthopedics firm for failing to diagnose a blood clot that eventually led to the amputation of the wife’s leg.

The complaint, filed last month by Jeanette and Allen Presley in Allen Superior Court of Indiana, charges Orthopaedics Northeast of failing to diagnose a blood clot on three separate occasions.

The orthopedic malpractice lawsuit follows a ruling by the Indiana Medical Review Panel stating that the firm failed to meet appropriate standards of care in treating Jeanette Presley, according to a report in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.

Presley alleges that in March 2006 she went to the orthopedic firm three times complaining of problems in her leg. Staff at Orthopaedics Northeast gave her knee injections and failed to diagnose that she had a blood clot in her leg.

In April 2006, Presley was admitted to the hospital for loss of blood flow to her right foot, and a large acute blood clot was ultimately found in a major artery. Several days later her leg was amputated above the knee.

Last year, a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association highlighted the importance of diagnosing blood clots in the leg, particularly those occurring in veins deep under the surface, a condition known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The study found that older 2-point compression or duplex ultrasounds were as effective as newer, more expensive Doppler ultrasound. The study’s authors suggested that anyone having calf pain, swelling, redness or warmth occurring in only one leg should automatically be checked for DVT.

Orthopedic surgery ranks fifth among medical specialties for the number of malpractice lawsuits filed, and fifth in the number of claims that result in some form of financial payment for the plaintiff, according to a study by the Naval Medical Center in San Diego. The failure of the doctor to effectively communicate with the patient and family, failure to obtain proper, informed, consent, and failure to promptly assess complications were found to be the leading contributors to orthopedic surgeon malpractice suits.