Mr. Davis is 45-year-old male. He has been married to his wife, Julie for 20 years. Together they have 2 children ages 10 and 12. He has worked for a local refinery for the last 15 years. He has been a shift supervisor for the last 3 years and makes approximately $120,000 per year without bonuses. On February 3^rd 2019, while working as the shift manager at the refinery he slipped and fell injuring his torso. He went by ambulance to Saint Mary’s Hospital Emergency Department to be evaluated. Dr. Smith was the physician working the Emergency Department and evaluated Mr. Davis. 

Dr. Smith performed a physical examination of Mr. Davis and noted bruising and redness to his left rib area, but did not see any other obvious trauma. He ordered a chest x-ray, complete blood count, and electro cardio gram. 

The complete blood count and electro cardio gram results were all within normal limits. However, when viewing the chest x-ray Dr. Smith noted a shadow in the left upper lobe of the lung. He spoke to Mr. Davis about the shadow, but told him he believed it was bruising related to chest wall trauma from the fall. He discharged Mr. Davis to home with instructions to follow up with his primary care provider. 

Dr. Reid was the radiologist assigned to provide full interpretation of x-rays for Saint Mary’s hospital. Upon reviewing Mr. Davis’ chest x-ray he wrote in his report that there was a shadow or mass in the left upper lobe that was suspicious for a tumor. He recommended computed tomography (CT) scan of his chest be performed for further evaluation. Dr. Reid’s report was electronically sent to Dr. Smith for follow up as well as Dr. Jones, Mr. Davis’ primary care physician. The Saint Mary’s emergency department and Dr. Smith did not contact Mr. Davis with the final chest x-ray report. 

Mr. Davis took 2 days off from work, but felt better after that and returned to work. He did not schedule a follow up appointment with Dr. Jones and Dr. Jones’ office did not reach out to Mr. Davis for any follow up based off the chest x-ray report from the Saint Mary’s emergency room visit. 

In October 1, 2019, Mr. Davis noticed he was getting short of breath while performing regular work duties at the refinery. He also noticed some swelling and pain in his neck area. He scheduled an appointment with Dr. Jones for October 4^th. When Dr. Jones saw him in the office, he did a physical exam. He noted lymphadenopathy of the axillary, and cervical lymph nodes. He ordered a chest x-ray for further evaluation. Upon ordering the chest x-ray, Dr. Jones noted the previous chest x-ray from Saint Mary’s emergency department. He realized he had not previously viewed or signed off on the February 3^rd chest x-ray report. He recognized immediately that the chest x-ray report from Dr. Reid indicated a concern of a potential lung tumor and ordered a CT Scan of Mr. Davis’ chest and neck. 

Mr. Davis’ chest x-ray from October 4^th showed a large mass in the left upper lobe. The CT scan of his chest showed a large mass in his left upper lobe, smaller masses in his left and right lower lobes, concerning areas in the left axillary and cervical lymph nodes. Mr. Davis was referred to an Oncologist for further evaluation of the masses and was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. He had multiple areas of metastasis including his brain. 

He started chemotherapy and radiation treatment in November of 2019. The chemotherapy and radiation caused him severe pain, nausea and vomiting. He was hospitalized multiple times over the next 6 months for pain, secondary infections, dehydration, and low blood counts. Mr.

Davis entered hospice care in May 2020 and passed away 2 weeks later. 

Requirements and Structure of Analysis: 

1. The Case Analysis is formal, but brief and should be submitted using APA formatting including a title page, in-text citations, and a reference list.    Your analysis should be a minimum of 3 pages and not more than 7 pages excluding title page and reference page.
2. An abstract is not required. 

1. A minimum of 3 references are required to support your opinion. They may include but are not limited to: 
   1. Your text
   2. State Law (statutory law)
   3. Federal Law (statutory/legislative law – US)
   4. Case Law (common law; exemplar judgement or ruling)
   5. Medical standards of care from an authoritative medical or nursing source.

1. Use the following structure to help guide your analysis 
   1. Identify the main issue in the case. 
      1. Phrase the main issues of the case in the form of one or two brief statements. (e.g., the issue is whether or not the patient’s injuries were caused by a failure to provide the appropriate standard of care required for the treatment of infections.)
2. What are the facts of the case? 
   1. These should be summarized in a clear, concise and chronological order. Only the major facts, important to the issues in the case, should be included.

1. Are all the elements required in a negligence suit present? 
   1. List the required elements for a negligence suit.
   2. Explain each element.
   3. Apply any facts from the case to the element it would be associated with.

1. Who would you consider to be the potential plaintiff and defendant?
2. How would you argue for the plaintiff? 
   1. What evidence would you present?

1. How would you defend the defendant? 
   1. What are your defense options?

1. In your opinion, what would be the likely outcome if the case was to go to court?
2. If the defendant was found negligent, what kind of damages could be awarded and why?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Identify the central issue in the case The main issue in the scenario was that Mr Davis got injured in the torso after he slipped while working From the scenario there is proof of failure to provide a... View the full answer