A leading Houston Bay Area hospital has been sued for the alleged failure to diagnose a patient’s malaria. According to the petition, filed in Harris County District Court, the patient presented at the hospital’s emergency room, with complaints of abdominal pain, nausea and headache. Upon questioning, it was discovered that he had recently returned from an 18-month trip to Nigeria. He claims that he disclosed that the reason for his visit was malaria, but that the hospital staff and attending doctor failed to test him for the parasite. Instead of testing him, or performing blood work, he claims that the hospital and doctor diagnosed him with a general “fever” and discharged him.
Six days after his emergency room visit, the patient was found unresponsive and foaming at the mouth, after the disease had allegedly traveled to his brain. He claims that the failure to diagnose the disease led to cerebral complications, renal failure and skin ulcerations. He alleges that the hospital and attending physician were negligent and grossly negligent in failing to diagnose the disease.
The hospital and physician have answered the case, denying negligence and denying any responsibility to the patient. State District Judge Robert Schaffer has set the case for trial in September 2016.
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