The physician who discharged the patient from the ED was deposed by the plaintiff’s attorney. The deposition covered multiple topics related to the patient’s care in the ED, and also touched on several key principles of a chest pain work-up.
In this first section, the lawyer is asking the doctor about the history that he obtained from the patient. In particular, they discuss the pain she reported, where it radiated, and the sunburn she had.
In the next part of the deposition, they move from talking about the patient’s history, to the troponin and whether it should have been repeated.
The doctor next discusses the nitroglycerin that she was given, and his interpretation of the EKG. He discusses his opinion about using nitroglycerin as a “diagnostic and therapeutic test”. The transcript picks up mid-sentence:
The attorney then shifts to asking the doctor about a checklist that could be used to assess chest pain patients. It is not clear what exact checklist this is, but he uses it to point out that the patient had numerous risk factors.
The physician’s opinions expressed in this deposition will be covered in detail later, in the review of this case. Do you agree with his rationale in testing, treating, and releasing this patient? Could this outcome could have been averted or was it unavoidable?
In the following pages, we will see the expert witness opinions, with excerpts from both the defense and plaintiff’s witnesses.