A 28-year-old man went to the emergency room of an Illinois hospital on April 27, 2023 with complaints of chest pain, blurred vision, dizziness, lightheadedness, and difficulty breathing. He told the medical staff that his symptoms began two days prior, that he started vomiting the day before his ER visit, and that his symptoms were so severe that he was unable to drive home from work. His heart rate was elevated in the emergency department and stayed elevated (over 100 beats per minute) during his hospital visit. Medical testing revealed an elevated D-dimer level. His medical history included the recent diagnosis of hypertension. These symptoms and conditions were consistent with aortic dissection, according to the Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit.
A chest CT scan allegedly showed “clear indications” of an aortic dissection but the radiologist reportedly failed to note the findings in his report. Instead, the man was diagnosed with acute pericarditis, was treated with intravenous Toradol in the ER, and was sent home the same day, with instructions to take over-the-counter painkillers and to follow up with his primary care physician.
Four day’s later, the man’s wife found him unresponsive in bed. Despite resuscitative efforts, the man died. An autopsy reportedly determined the cause of death to be cardiac tamponade and a ruptured aortic dissection.
The Illinois medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit filed in January 2025 alleges that the defendants breached the standard of care by failing to take appropriate measures to prevent the man’s discharge without adequate care, failing to recognize and act on clear indications of an aortic dissection in imaging results, and failing to properly diagnose and treat the man’s condition: “Dr. Beatty had a duty to possess and apply the knowledge and to use the skill and care ordinarily used by [a] reasonably careful radiologist and to be free from negligence. In breach of the aforesaid duty, Dr. Beatty negligently provided medical care and treatment to Brandon and did not exercise the degree of skill and care that a reasonably careful physician would exercise under similar circumstances, in that Dr. Beatty negligently failed to identify Brandon’s aortic dissection … [Dr. Beatty] Failed to identify that computed tomography angiography (“CTA”) of Brandon Hopps’ chest showed clear indications that he had suffered an aortic dissection.” The lawsuit alleges that had proper diagnosis and medical care been provided, the man’s medical condition could have been timely treated and his death would have been avoided.
If you or a loved one may have been injured (or worse) as a result of emergency department malpractice in Illinois or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find an Illinois medical malpractice lawyer, or a medical malpractice lawyer in your state, who may investigate your emergency room malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in an emergency department medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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