$2M lawsuit filed against Va. hospital, telerad firm
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Northern Virginia Daily reported that Paulette Eversole was brought to Winchester Medical Center on Jan. 19, 2010, complaining of excruciating abdominal pain. Physicians ordered CT scans and sent them to a teleradiology firm, Nighthawk Radiology, for overnight interpretation. Findings were reported as normal for both the overnight interpretation and a second interpretation from an on-site radiologist the following morning, according to the paper.
However, three days later Paulette Eversole underwent surgery where it was discovered that her liver, pancreas and other organs had become black and necrotic, according to The State Journal. She had been suffering from mesenteric ischemia and died shortly after surgery.
The complaint alleges that Winchester Medical Center did not have trained and qualified radiologic healthcare providers on-site to read and interpret the images, according to Northern Virginia Daily. It also claims a MR angiogram was critically delayed when the patient was oversedated and that the defendants were negligent in correctly diagnosing and treating her condition.
The suit was filed on Jan. 19, and named 19 defendants, including Valley Health Systems, Winchester Medical Center, Nighthawk Radiology Holdings, Virtual Radiologic and a number of individual physicians.
It could take up to three years for the case to go to court, according to the attorney representing the Eversole family.
Evan Godt, Writer
Evan joined TriMed in 2011, writing primarily for Health Imaging. Prior to diving into medical journalism, Evan worked for the Nine Network of Public Media in St. Louis. He also has worked in public relations and education. Evan studied journalism at the University of Missouri, with an emphasis on broadcast media.