Patient death during X-ray procedure leads to wrongful death suit

Most Texas readers would probably agree that it is common to worry about family members who go to the hospital for a serious injury or for surgery. However, what about an X-ray? As one recent story points out, they too can be life threatening, at least in the hands of negligent physician.
A family of a deceased man is suing a Texas hospital and several doctors for wrongful death after the man died during an X-ray procedure known as an arteriogram. During the procedure, the doctors injected a contrast dye into the man’s circulatory system using an IV in an attempt to obtain an X-ray of his blood vessels. Per the complaint, the man died during the procedure.
The wife and children of the man are now suing the hospital and several doctors, claiming mental anguish, loss of care, protection and other losses. The lawsuit claims that the hospital and the doctors are to blame because they did not completely disclose the arteriogram risks and were negligently unsuccessful in warning the family of the dangers associated with their incompetent treatment. Those were just a few of the claims in the lawsuit. The family is seeking unspecified damages, exemplary damages and other forms of relief.
In most cases, legal liability for injuries caused by medical malpractice would proceed under the theory of negligence. Under such theory, a plaintiff must show that a medical professional’s conduct did not meet the proper standard of care. To do so, the plaintiff will usually have to present testimony identifying the appropriate standard of care, as well as testimony proving that the medical professional failed to meet that standard. If a victim’s family can meet all the required elements of negligence, they may be entitled to compensation awarded by a court.
Source: The Southeast Texas Record, “Family seeks money following man’s death during arteriogram,” Kelly Holleran, March 12, 2013