Jury awards $1.25 million in death of Hibbing boy

Do you know how difficult it is to diagnose appendicitis in a 21 month old?

no amount of money will ever be enough for this family. And a million plus dollars is nothing to begin with, especailly seeing as how the state will take their 40% and the attorney gets his 33-40%...the family will be lucky they have enough money left to re coup the burial of this little boy and perhaps a Happy Meal before they go home.
My condolances to the family, I know of the pain you are feeling.

rdubyapee wrote:

Do you know how difficult it is to diagnose appendicitis in a 21 month old?

Yup... it's as difficult as doing a CT scan after the child wails from touching it's abdomen. Wow... that was difficult.

Yup...we don't need Tort reform in health care, but we need doctors to get paid even less per patient. This means they need to cram each patient through in less time, and at less cost (ie, less tests like MRIs). Get ready to see 1000 of these lawsuits a month...

Great job all you liberal lawyers in Congress. Yes we can!

Sounds like the only thing in this Doctor's mind was "the more patients, the more money." He's actually not the first doctor to be doing this.

Speaking as a physician and someone who has been in court (thankfully won) this likely is a just verdict. No doctor I know willingly would ignore a patient, but awful mistakes happen. This is just sad, preventable and will scar all parties, including the doctor, for the rest of their life. Just wait until the death suits start after this flu pandemic. Something needs to be done to reduce tort load, maybe arbitration with a panel of judges, doctors and public health folks, and we need more docs to reduce doctors seeing 6 patients an hour. Not the best medicine.

Oh Danny Boy wrote:

no amount of money will ever be enough for this family. And a million plus dollars is nothing to begin with, especailly seeing as how the state will take their 40% and the attorney gets his 33-40%...the family will be lucky they have enough money left to re coup the burial of this little boy and perhaps a Happy Meal before they go home.
My condolances to the family, I know of the pain you are feeling.

Wrong, there is no tax on jury rewards and funeral expenses are included as a cost in determining damages. Do a bit of diligence before you speak.

Blah Blah Blah wrote:

Sounds like the only thing in this Doctor's mind was "the more patients, the more money." He's actually not the first doctor to be doing this.

More like too many patients and not enough time. Pediatricians are among the lowest paid specialties, this is not a cash cow business. Probably overwhelmed in a low doc/high patient area.

What ever happend to doctors who actually care more obout the patient, than how much money they can make in a day, i remeber my doctor who has passed away now, would always schedule 30 min. for each patient, now im lucky to get 10, i suppose its the only way they can pay for there million dollar homes, luxury cars, country club memberships. i realize not all doctors are like this, but i belive most are, you should see the docs parking lot where i go, it looks like a lexus dealership.

rdubyapee wrote:

Do you know how difficult it is to diagnose appendicitis in a 21 month old?

Yes do you

Bobajoul wrote:

<quoted text>
More like too many patients and not enough time. Pediatricians are among the lowest paid specialties, this is not a cash cow business. Probably overwhelmed in a low doc/high patient area.

Even in a low doc/high patient area, that does not give the doctor the excuse to schedule 45 kids in one day and only schedule them for 10 minutes. As a pediatrician, he should realize kids can be difficult to diagnose and may need some extra attention.
Even as a pediatrician (if they are the lowest paid specialty), he is still making quite a bit more than your average-joe. Also, shows he should be in it for the kids not the money. Parents trust these guys to take care of their babies.
And agreed with some of the others - where did the doctors go that will actually sit down and listen to you and work with you, instead of 10 min in and out and on to the next (I know not all are like that as well).

I work with a group of Famly Practice physicians in a rural multi-specialty clinic. Being a doc isn't a guarantee of a luxurious lifestyle. The medical industry has been affected by the economy the same as every other industry. The corporations that employ physicians expect them to turn the company a profit so don't put all the blame on the physicians. Many of them are 'working joes' like yourselves trying to support their families and please their employers especially in rural communities where there are fewer (specialty) physicians to care for the number of patients in need of their care. While I agree this is an unfortunate event that could have been easily avoided, it is more complex than simple physician negligence. Diagnosing such a condition in a 21 month old is difficult and do you have any idea how expensive a CT scan and/or MRI are? We fight with insurance companies and patients every day to pay for services they consider unnecessary due to their complaints of docs 'over-treating'. You're damned if you do, and damned if you don't. That being said, sincere condolences to the family and I can empathize with the doc who no doubt will be filled with remorse over this tragedy every day of his life.

Yet another doctor who took an oath when they became a doctor to take CARE of their patients. I don't recall ever hearing that doctores get paid by commission on the number of patients they see! What a horrible thing for a parent to have to deal with...and then find out that a doctor (or that is what this guy calls himself) can't even diagnose a problem!! Why is it that doctors are so afraid of referring patients onto specialists??? shame on you K. Krause. In my eyes and those of probably others, you should NOT be a doctor!!!!

Bobajoul wrote:

<quoted text>
Wrong, there is no tax on jury rewards and funeral expenses are included as a cost in determining damages. Do a bit of diligence before you speak.

You are wrong ..........on both counts oh Mr. Legal Breath.....

Where did you get the idea from this article that docs are afraid of referring patients on to specialists? That is rarely a concern - other than after the fact the patients and insurance companies complain about the add'l expense and 'rising healthcare costs'.

overworked- underpaid wrote:

I work with a group of Famly Practice physicians in a rural multi-specialty clinic. Being a doc isn't a guarantee of a luxurious lifestyle. The medical industry has been affected by the economy the same as every other industry. The corporations that employ physicians expect them to turn the company a profit so don't put all the blame on the physicians. Many of them are 'working joes' like yourselves trying to support their families and please their employers especially in rural communities where there are fewer (specialty) physicians to care for the number of patients in need of their care. While I agree this is an unfortunate event that could have been easily avoided, it is more complex than simple physician negligence. Diagnosing such a condition in a 21 month old is difficult and do you have any idea how expensive a CT scan and/or MRI are? We fight with insurance companies and patients every day to pay for services they consider unnecessary due to their complaints of docs 'over-treating'. You're damned if you do, and damned if you don't. That being said, sincere condolences to the family and I can empathize with the doc who no doubt will be filled with remorse over this tragedy every day of his life.

"Diagnosing such a condition in a 21 month old is difficult and do you have any idea how expensive a CT scan and/or MRI are?"

Yes I've had both and depending on where you go the cost ranges from about $600 to $1500 for a CT scan and about $1500 to $3000 for an MRI... both of which are about a gazillion less than a human life.

rdubyapee wrote:

Do you know how difficult it is to diagnose appendicitis in a 21 month old?

No I don't, but I doubt you do. That doesnt mean you don't do it. Regardless, when the child wailed in pain when being touched, further testing shuld have been done. My daughter had multiple testing done as an infant and toddler. She was always sedated to get the most accurate diagnosis. It can be done. Thank the good Lord for sending us to the right doctor. My daughter is now 21.

Bobajoul wrote:

Speaking as a physician and someone who has been in court (thankfully won) this likely is a just verdict. No doctor I know willingly would ignore a patient, but awful mistakes happen. This is just sad, preventable and will scar all parties, including the doctor, for the rest of their life. Just wait until the death suits start after this flu pandemic. Something needs to be done to reduce tort load, maybe arbitration with a panel of judges, doctors and public health folks, and we need more docs to reduce doctors seeing 6 patients an hour. Not the best medicine.

We won't be able to afford more docs, unless you think they will work for $50k a year. The pay per patient will go down for every person on Obamacare for an office visit. How do you think they earn enough income (per patient revenue) to cover their expenses (office overhead, staff, insurance, continuing training, etc)? They will need to see more patients in the same amount of time, just like this doctor is accused of doing.

for what it is worth wrote:

<quoted text>
Even as a pediatrician (if they are the lowest paid specialty), he is still making quite a bit more than your average-joe. Also, shows he should be in it for the kids not the money..

I'm sure he has 10+ more years of school (and school loans of $500K plus) than the 'average-joe too. I suppose you feel that regardless of training, time, or expense, we all should make $50k a year?

YouLie wrote:

<quoted text>
"Diagnosing such a condition in a 21 month old is difficult and do you have any idea how expensive a CT scan and/or MRI are?"
Yes I've had both and depending on where you go the cost ranges from about $600 to $1500 for a CT scan and about $1500 to $3000 for an MRI... both of which are about a gazillion less than a human life.

The price you saw was:

a) The negotiated discount price between the insurance company and the hospital, not the real cost per patient to actually run the machine.
b) The price per patient in a metro hospital. That cost is waayyy less than a rural hospital, because it gets used 2-5X times more, so the costs to buy, staff, and maintain can be spread over a much larger number of patients.
c) The price based on thousands of transactions a day to a single insurance provider. Higher volume means lower overhead costs per billing.

All of these things make the cost of anything much higher in rural hospitals.