Pediatric emergency medicine: Legal briefs

Abstract

A young in his early 30s went to his physician group with alleged compliants of a sore throat and difficult swallowing and brearthing. He was examined and sent home. The next morning he had difficult breathing and was seen in a Rhode Island emergency department (ED). He subsequently lost consciousness and died. A lawsuit was field against the physician who initially saw the patient, claiming that he was negligent in failing to diagnose epiglottitis and send the patient to an ED immediately, and for failing to perform indirect laryngoscopy. The defendent physician mainained that the patient presented to the office with only a sore throat, did not complain of difficult breathing or swallowing, and that the patient may have developed epiglottitis after he left the office.