| A young man broke his arm while working in a | | | | anesthesia and have a recuperation period of 6-8 |
| brickyard. He went to an emergency room in a | | | | weeks again. |
| municipal hospital in New York. The emergency | | | | This young man learned that his broken bone was |
| room doctor told him he had a fracture and they | | | | never set properly. Had it been properly set when |
| would set the fracture and put a cast on. The | | | | he was in the emergency room, he'd never have |
| cast would remain on for 6 weeks. He was told | | | | needed this additional surgery and wouldn't have |
| to follow up every few weeks to make sure the | | | | to have his bone re-broken and then put back |
| broken bone was healing properly. | | | | together with plates, pins and screws. |
| This young man returned to the orthopedic clinic, | | | | During this lawsuit, I had a chance to question the |
| as instructed, and each time he went, x-rays | | | | "Doctor" who treated my client in the emergency |
| were taken. After x-rays were taken, the | | | | room. It turns out that this "doctor" was not a |
| orthopedic resident reassured him that everything | | | | doctor at all. In fact, he was just a physician's |
| was healing properly. Six weeks after the initial | | | | assistant who was supposed to be supervised by |
| injury, the patient had his cast removed. He was | | | | the attending emergency room physician. |
| shocked at what he saw. His arm looked like a | | | | Unfortunately for my client, this physician's |
| roller coaster. It was straight, then went up, | | | | assistant never asked his supervising physician to |
| curved, then went down and flat again. He asked | | | | review the emergency room x-ray before or |
| the doctor whether this was normal. The | | | | after he had set the bone to make sure it was |
| physician told him that with physical therapy this | | | | done correctly. Even more amazing was that |
| would go away. | | | | none of the orthopedic residents who evaluated |
| My client was not an educated man, yet he knew | | | | this patient in the orthopedic clinic recognized that |
| that no amount of physical therapy would make | | | | the x-ray was clearly abnormal and that the bone |
| his bone go back into the correct position. He | | | | would not heal in the correct position. |
| decided to seek another opinion of an orthopedist | | | | Had the physician's assistant shown the original |
| near his home. After additional x-rays and | | | | x-rays to his supervisor, in all likelihood, the |
| evaluation of the the original emergency room | | | | supervising doctor would have recognized that the |
| x-rays, this board-certified orthopedist concluded | | | | arm was not set correctly and would have re-set |
| that this young man needed surgery to re-break | | | | it again before casting the arm and sending the |
| the bone since it did not heal in the correct | | | | patient home. |
| position. He would need a titanium plate, screws | | | | This injury was totally preventable, and the |
| and pins to hold the newly broken bones together. | | | | attorney who represented the hospital recognized |
| This is known as an osteotomy (breaking the | | | | that fact during the litigation. I am pleased to |
| bone) and an open reduction with internal fixation. | | | | report that this case was successfully resolved |
| He would need to be put to sleep with general | | | | shortly before trial. |