Hospital Accused of Failing to Inform Patient of Test Results

Failing to Inform Patient: When individuals go to a hospital to receive care, they will sometimes undergo medical tests. These tests will sometimes produce results which indicate potential medical problems. Thus, medical tests can have real benefits to patients, as spotting medical problems early can allow actions to be taken to address these problems before they can cause major long-term damage. However, these benefits of testing can be negated if doctors negligently fail to inform patients of relevant test results.

Recently, allegations of this type of negligence have been made in a medical malpractice case in Oregon. The case involves a woman who received care from an Oregon hospital in October of 2007. During this care, the woman reportedly underwent a blood test. The woman alleges that this test indicated that she had deficient kidney function. She claims that the hospital’s doctor did not inform her of this test result.

The woman claims that, over a year later, it was discovered that she had developed kidney failure. She alleges that this condition has caused her pain. She also claims that she will have to receive dialysis treatments for the rest of her life because of this condition.

The woman has now brought a lawsuit against the Oregon hospital. She claims that the hospital and its staff acted negligently when they failed to inform her of the blood test results that showed deficient kidney function. She alleges that this failure prevented her from knowing about her kidney problems in advance and that this in turn contributed to her developing the condition she currently suffers from.

As the allegations in this case demonstrate, patients can suffer harm when doctors negligently fail to inform them of test results that indicate a potential medical problem. Thus, one hopes that all hospitals and medical professionals will take steps to ensure that, when patients undergo tests, they are made aware of any relevant results.

Source: The Register-Guard, “Ex-patient files suit against hospital,” 8 Apr 2011 – Failing to Inform Patient