 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
WASFI v. CHADDHA3/26/1991
The named plaintiff, Carrie Wasfi, sued the defendants for medical malpractice in the diagnosis and treatment of an acoustic neuroma. Specifically, she claimed that the defendant Shashi Chaddha, a radiologist, had negligently failed to detect the presence of an acoustic neuroma when he performed a CAT scan on her in May, 1981, and that the defendant Frank J. Riccio, an otolaryngologist, had negligently failed to diagnose and treat the acoustic neuroma in October, 1982, after she reported a sudden hearing loss. The neuroma, and its subsequent surgical removal in 1983, caused total hearing loss in Wasfi's right ear, facial paralysis, hemiparesis of the left side, and voice loss. After a twenty-day trial, the jury returned verdicts in favor of the defendants. Wasfi appealed, claiming numerous errors in the trial court's instructions to the jury. We affirm the judgment.
The jury could reasonably have found the following facts. Since childhood, Wasfi had suffered from diabetes. At various times between 1977 and 1981, she had experienced visual and other problems linked to diabetes and had undergone hospital treatment.
In 1981, Wasfi sought treatment for recurring headaches from her family physician, Joseph Sciarrillo. Sciarrillo ordered X rays, a CAT scan and an electroencephalogram (EEG). Chaddha was the radiologist who performed the CAT scan. Chaddha later testified that he had not been informed of Wasfi's symptoms prior to evaluating the CAT scan results. In any event, Chaddha reported to Sciarrillo that the CAT scan result was normal. Sciarrillo prescribed headache medication for Wasfi, which had some positive effects.
In October, 1982, Wasfi noticed sudden loss of hearing in one ear when she attempted to use the telephone. She went to Joseph Riccio, an otolaryngologist, told him of the hearing loss, and also reported headaches, a recent cold and "lightheadedness." Riccio conducted some office tests and told Wasfi that the hearing loss might be viral (related to her cold) or vascular (related to her diabetes). He recommended "carbogen therapy," a treatment involving inhalation of a mixture of carbon dioxide and oxygen intended to open a blocked ear vessel. Riccio arranged for other practitioners to perform the therapy and advised Wasfi to contact him after the therapy was complete. Had Wasfi reported continued hearing loss following such treatment, he would at that time have recommended a CAT scan.
Wasfi discussed the suggested carbogen therapy with her husband. After the discussion, she decided not to undergo the carbogen therapy. Wasfi did not inform Riccio of her decision and did not contact him again, although her hearing did not improve. Six months after
her visit to Riccio, she began to experience severe headaches. After a month of the headaches, in May, 1983, she returned to her family physician, Sciarrillo. When a second CAT scan revealed the presence of a tumor, Sciarrillo immediately had her admitted to a hospital, where the neuroma was removed.
At the trial, experts on both sides testified concerning, inter alia, the propriety of Riccio's prescription of carbogen therapy prior to ordering a CAT scan. The thrust of Riccio's evidence was that when a patient suffers a hearing loss that may be caused by dozens of nonthreatening conditions, doctors routinely attempt to screen out such conditions before ordering a CAT scan, which would be used to detect a more serious cause for the hearing loss; that if carbogen therapy is successful in restoring hearing, it would also rule out more serious causes for the hearing loss; and that Riccio's decision to recommend carbogen therapy before ordering a CAT scan was only
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Connecticut Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|