Tragedy recently struck a Texas family when their 20-year-old son died from a highly unusual cause. The young man had choked on a bone while eating chicken nearly two weeks prior to his passing and experienced discomfort in his throat after the incident. The discomfort was so severe that he sought medical attention two times, but was sent home both times without any intervention.
His family believes that he was on his way to yet another medical visit when he suffered cardiac arrest. He was rushed to an emergency room where a CAT scan was performed on his throat. Upon viewing the scan, the man’s family and doctors learned that he had a chicken bone lodged an inch into the side of this throat and that his body had entered septic shock because of the injury. Less than a week later the man passed away.
At this time the man’s family is looking into its legal options for seeking recourse against the medical professionals who failed to render support and aid to the man. Medical negligence and the failure of doctors to offer a proper and accurate diagnosis for his throat pain may serve as the basis for a medical malpractice or wrongful death civil claim.
This tragedy demonstrates that medical professionals do not always act with the requisite standard of care when they are presented with medical problems and emergencies. In this case, the failure of multiple doctors to properly diagnose a medical condition led to the death of an otherwise healthy 20-year-old man.