Connecticut Radiology Malpractice Lawyer

Radiologists are invaluable and integral members of the medical community who improve patient care. Through the use of various medical imaging methods, these highly-trained doctors specialize in studying, diagnosing, and determining the best treatment of many medical conditions and diseases.

Radiologists are able to study a patient’s imaging results and identify abnormalities otherwise naked to the human eye. This, in turn, provides crucial information to the patient’s treating physicians, who can provide medical care accordingly. Speak to a Connecticut radiology malpractice lawyer to see if you have a claim. Our experienced medical malpractice attorneys are ready to get to work for you.

Tools Available

Some of the diagnostic imaging tools available to radiologists include the following:

• X-rays
• Computed tomography (CT) scans
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Ultrasounds
• Fluoroscopy
• Nuclear medicine imaging

Different imaging methods are appropriate for the study and diagnosis of different conditions. The appropriate choice of imaging method may depend on many factors, such as a patient’s symptoms, lab test results, and the affected body part (e.g., bone, soft tissue, muscle, etc.).

Radiologists are asked to detect, confirm, rule out, and identify the stage or seriousness of countless diagnoses and conditions, a few of which include the following:

• Fractured bones
• The presence of (and extent of) a tumor
• Internal bleeding, including bleeding in the brain
• Confirmation of location of surgical screws and implants
• Abnormalities in a patient’s reproductive system

Radiologists Make Mistakes Too

Like all medical care providers, radiologists can make mistakes that result in serious and harmful injuries to patients. When one of these mistakes falls outside the scope of the accepted medical standard of care, it may constitute radiology malpractice.

Radiology malpractice, not surprisingly, is the specialized subset of medical malpractice that applies to the actions (or inactions) of radiologists and radiology teams.

What Are the Common Types of Radiology Mistakes?

Some examples of possible radiology malpractice include the following:

• Interpreting a study with abnormal results as normal
• Interpreting a study with normal results as abnormal
• Failure to diagnose a condition or disease, especially cancer
• Misdiagnosis of a condition or disease
• Failure to diagnose a bone fracture
• Failure to diagnose an aneurysm
• Failure to order the appropriate diagnostic imaging test based on the medical evidence
• Administration of an injectable dye or contrast agent to a patient with a known allergy

Any of these mistakes can result in awful consequences to a patient including the following:

• Treatment for the wrong diagnosis
• Delayed treatment, leading to a significant worsening of the condition
• Failure to receive treatment due to a missed diagnosis
• An allergic reaction to dye or contrast agent

Interventional Radiology

Some radiologists are educated, trained, and certified in interventional radiology. This diagnostic and therapeutic subspecialty of radiology involves the conduction of minimally-invasive, image-guided, precisely-targeted surgical procedures to diagnose and treat many types of conditions and diseases.

Examples of interventional radiological procedures include balloon angiography, the insertion of drugs to break up blood clots, and the embolization (i.e., blocking) of blood vessels to stop internal bleeding.

As with “traditional” radiology, interventional radiology and other specialized radiological procedures are subject to radiology malpractice claims, as a Connecticut lawyer can explain.

Why Do I Need a Lawyer for A Radiology Error Case?

One of the most complex and sophisticated areas of law is medical malpractice litigation. For the best chance at a favorable outcome in your medical malpractice case, especially a radiology malpractice case, you must hire an extensively experienced, successful attorney who specializes in these types of cases in Connecticut.

As with all medical malpractice cases, the success of a radiology malpractice case hinges on the patient’s ability to demonstrate that the radiologist breached the duty of care to the patient; and that said breach directly caused the patient’s injuries.

Important Considerations In Investigating a Radiology Malpractice Case

With respect to medical malpractice cases, including radiology malpractice cases, Connecticut law mandates that the injured party’s attorney first conducts a reasonable and thorough investigation to determine if, in good faith, a viable claim exists.

When investigating a potential case, our skilled legal team conducts a thorough evaluation and analysis of a number of factors:

• The patient’s allegations of radiology malpractice are closely scrutinized. This means that the defendant’s actions are evaluated and compared to the actions (or inactions) of other radiologists faced with a similar set of circumstances.
  • If the injured party can adequately show that the defendant radiologist’s action(s) fall outside the scope of what other radiologists have done or would have done in a similar situation, an injured party may have a viable claim for radiology malpractice.
  • Conversely, if the defendant radiologist may be able to sufficiently show that his or her actions were in line with what other radiologists have done or would have done in similar circumstances, any claims of radiology malpractice may not be viable.

• Expert medical opinions and testimony are necessary to establish the appropriate medical standard of care and how the radiologist’s actions compare.

• Not every radiology mistake that causes a patient’s injury is radiology malpractice. The malpractice exists only when a patient suffers injury because a radiologist acts or fails to act in a way that falls short of the ever-important appropriate medical standard of care.

• Last but not least: A radiologist may be liable for radiology malpractice only if the radiology error directly results in harm and injury to a patient. Radiology errors (even blatant ones) that do not directly cause a patient’s injury are not instances of radiology malpractice.

Recovering Compensation for Our Clients

****At Berkowitz Hanna, we do not and will never guarantee a financial recovery in your case, either through settlement or a court-ordered verdict.****

However, we are proud to acknowledge our successes in obtaining favorable outcomes for our clients injured due to radiology malpractice, including but not limited to the following recoveries and awards:

• $2,500,000.00 settlement against a radiologist for his failure to timely diagnose the plaintiff’s spinal tumor which progressed to metastatic late-stage cancer.

• $937,500.00 medical malpractice wrongful death settlement on behalf of the estate of a 69-year-old client against a gastroenterologist and radiologist for failing to timely diagnose her colon cancer before the disease had progressed to an incurable stage.

Contact a Connecticut Radiology Malpractice Attorney Today

Our medical malpractice legal team at Berkowitz Hanna has combined decades of experience helping clients recover financial compensation for their injuries.  If you believe that you have been harmed as a result of radiology malpractice, you should speak with a Connecticut radiology malpractice lawyer today.