Reference no: EM133251195

Case Study - The Physical To End All Physicals

Facts - Dr. Ender contracts with the DMV Health System, and rents office space at one of its physician office buildings. His office employs nurses, technicians, and administrative staff. He purchases the equipment used in patient exam rooms, such as pulse oximeters, examining tables, blood pressure cuffs, and scopes for examining ears and eyes. All of these were manufactured by the same company: Cheap-O Medical Devices. Although Dr. Ender might order blood tests, the blood is drawn and tests performed by employees and laboratories of DMV Health System.

Jimmy Dean, a 44-year old pork sausage magnate, went to his family physician, Dr. Ender, for his annual physical. Typically at these visits the patient's vitals are taken and the physician might perform a general physical examination and order a blood draw for a standard panel of blood tests. For the patient's part, the patient has the opportunity to ask questions about current health issues and ask about symptoms the patient is experiencing.

During the exam, a nurse employed by Dr. Ender took Jimmy's vitals, using a pulse oximeter and the blood pressure cuff. Readings from both instruments appeared within normal, healthy ranges. When Dr. Ender performed the physical exam, he found nothing abnormal. When taking Jimmy's medical history, Jimmy complained about sometimes feeling his heart racing, and sometimes feeling dizzy. Seeing as Jimmy's blood pressure seemed normal, Dr. Ender wasn't too concerned with high blood pressure. He referred Jimmy for a comprehensive blood test at the DMV Health System lab. This test is supposed to include tests for cholesterol, lipids and other indicators of potential arterial or heart problems.

Jimmy had his blood drawn at the DMV Health System lab. The phlebotomist was extremely busy that day and put Jimmy's ID label on someone else's test tube. When the results came back a week later, it showed that all of Jimmy's tests had results within the normal range. In fact, the results were for a 25-year old female ?Dr. Ender called Jimmy with the test results and indicated that there were no results of concern. However, had the correct test results been provided they would have shown that Jimmy had serious arterial clogging and was at high risk for a heart attack.

The next week, Dr. Ender discovered that both the pulse oximeter and blood pressure cuff he had been using at the office were not working properly and were providing inaccurate readings because he had failed to have the manufacturer perform their annual recalibration of the equipment (oops). He decided not to inform patients of this and have them come back for new tests, even patients like Jimmy who experienced symptoms that might indicate high blood pressure or lower than normal blood oxygen levels.

Two weeks after Dr. Ender discovered the problem with the blood pressure cuff, Jimmy had a fatal heart attack. Had proper blood pressure and blood test results been provided, he might have been able to undergo surgery or take medication that might have prevented the heart attack.

Questions - Jimmy's surviving spouse would like to file a lawsuit and comes to you for legal representation.

1. Which parties might be potential defendants in a complaint?

2. Which tort(s) might each party be liable for? For multiple defendants, they can be liable for the same or different torts based on the same event-here, the death of Jimmy. As part of your response:

a. Identify the elements that the plaintiff is required to prove.

b. Analyze the facts to determine whether the defendant(s) might be liable for the identified tort.