February 6, 2023
Attorney Jason Matzus is pursuing a radiology malpractice case against a radiologist at St. Clair Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The case involves the failure of a radiologist to correctly interpret a CT scan of a patient’s chest resulting in the failure to timely diagnose a pulmonary embolism that resulted in a patient’s death.
The CT scan revealed very significant and concerning findings that were consistent with a thrombus within the pulmonary arterial vasculature that were very concerning for the presence of pulmonary embolism. As a result of the radiologist’s failure to correctly interpret the CT scan, the pulmonary embolism was not diagnosed. Additionally, because the radiologist misread the CT scan as normal, no additional imaging studies were performed. However, if the radiologist correctly interpreted the CT scan, a more specific imaging study, called a CTA, should have been ordered.
A CTA combines a CT scan with a special dye or contrast material to produce detailed pictures of blood vessels, such as arteries, and it would have confirmed the presence of pulmonary embolism. Ultimately, because the radiologist misread the CT scan, the pulmonary embolism was not diagnosed. Due to the delay, the patient was deprived the opportunity to receive a timely diagnosis and treatment which would have led to life-saving therapy that would have prevented his death.