On March 17, 2025, a Virginia medical malpractice jury returned its verdict in the amount of $1.4 million for the death of a 30-year-old man who had a perforated duodenal ulcer that was misdiagnosed in the ER.
The man went to a hospital ER on December 28, 2019, complaining of 10 out of 10 abdominal pain, vomiting, difficulty breathing, profuse sweating, and other symptoms of distress. He was seen by a physician’s assistant (PA) who ordered lab work, IV fluids, and Zofran. He was sent to the main ER for evaluation by the defendant ER physician, who documented that he performed a complete physical examination (which the man’s girlfriend denied) and noted that his examination of the man’s abdomen was normal. The ER physician failed to order imaging or obtain a surgical consult before arriving at his diagnosis that the man had nausea and vomiting “of uncertain etiology.”
The ER physician allegedly discharged the man before the lab results came back, which reportedly were abnormal. The ER physician denied knowing that the man reported 8 out of 10 pain at the time of discharge.
Approximately 10 hours after he was discharged from the hospital, the man collapsed on his girlfriend’s floor and was pronounced deceased shortly after arrival at the hospital. The cause of death was determined to be a perforated duodenal ulcer. The man is survived by his 6-year-old son.
The plaintiff’s experts reportedly testified during trial that the standard of care required the ER physician to order an abdominal CT scan and obtain a surgical consultation before discharging the man. The experts testified that had the ER physician done so, the abdominal CT scan would have shown evidence of a gastric outlet obstruction caused by the duodenal ulcer, at which time a nasogastric tube would have been placed that would have saved the man’s life.
The defense experts reportedly testified during trial that the man’s symptoms were caused by smoking marijuana earlier that day that resulted in cannabinoid hyperemesis (which the defendant ER physician did not include in his differential diagnosis), and testified that the man’s symptoms were not due to a duodenal ulcer. They further testified that had an abdominal CT scan been ordered and done, the results would not have shown an abnormality, and a surgical consult was not necessary.
The Virginia medical malpractice trial lasted five days after which the jury deliberated for about nine hours before rendering its verdict in favor of the plaintiff.
If you or a loved one suffered harm as a result of ER malpractice in Virginia or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a Virginia medical malpractice lawyer, or a medical malpractice lawyer in your state, who may investigate your ER medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in an ER medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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