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Ohio SC reinstates medical malpractice claim

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The Supreme Court in Ohio has recently changed the way that medical malpractice cases are handled. A Lawyer describes that the state will now consider emotional distress caused by the injury when deciding on the level of compensation to be awarded.

Between 1997 and 2004, a female patient attended Reflections Breast Health Center every year. This clinic was owned and operated by Radiology and Imaging Services Inc. She visited the clinic every year to have annually mammograms. All of the mammograms were inspected by professionals and decided that they were normal. A mammogram in 2003 was said to be clear of any signs of cancer explains a doctor.

However, in mid-2004 the patient discovered a lump in her left breast. She mentioned this to her physician. She was hen referred back to Reflections for tests. The film found that the mass was almost certainly cancerous. Expert witnesses from The Bronx and Staten Island said that between 2003 and 2004 he mass had grown from 1cm to 2cm. A biopsy of the mass was done and this found that it was malignant.

The doctors carried out a dissection of lymph nodes close to the cancer to try and determine whether or not the cancer had spread. Two out of eight lymph nodes had tested positive for the cancer.

The patient needed chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapy and had the lump surgically removed.

The patient later filed a complaint alleging that the clinic had been grossly negligent in missing her cancer for so long. The claims stated that the clinic had failed to supervise the doctor. It also mentions that the doctor did not detect the cancer in time for treatment to be simple. Instead it was only detected when it was much more advanced.

The trial court found that the case must fail because cancer is not a physical injury which can be compensated in Ohio. This meant that the trial court granted judgment in favor of the hospital and doctor and dismissed the claims.

However, it has later been found that the patient would have been able to claim for emotional distress in her medical malpractice claim. This means that the case should have been allowed to go to trial.

Medical malpractice cases can be very complicated. By hiring a New York Medical Malpractice Attorney it should be much easier to handle the claim in a quick and easy way. A New York Medical Malpractice Attorney should also be able to advise you how much the claim is likely to cost, and the chances of you succeeding.

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