Without question, one of the most painful injuries any Kentucky resident can experience is a broken bone. A fracture, no matter how minor, requires the proper treatment and care in order to heal quickly and correctly. However, treatment cannot be administered if the injury is never diagnosed in the first place. A man in another state claims that medical providers failed to diagnose broken bones in his foot and he filed a medical malpractice lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, the man was injured at work when a 1,000 pound pipe fell on his foot. He sought immediate treatment at a local urgent care clinic, the lawsuit said. Allegedly, providers took an X-ray of his foot and closed a wound. The man said he was sent home and told by the doctor to keep his foot elevated and take ibuprofen.
The plaintiff said he returned to the clinic a few days later for a follow-up and was suffering from pain, swelling and drainage coming from the wound on his foot. He was allegedly given another X-ray and sent back to work on modified duty. However, the man apparently sought another opinion and learned that he had undiagnosed fractures in his foot, which led to him suffering regional pain syndrome. The lawsuit alleged the urgent care doctors were negligent for failing to diagnose the man’s injury.
If an injury or disease is not diagnosed, it cannot be treated. Failing to diagnose can be considered medical malpractice. Families in Kentucky who have been affected by negligence such as this may want to discuss the matter with an attorney. Damages from a successful lawsuit could provide families with monetary relief to help them through this traumatic experience.