Dorrough V. Wilkes (2002)

Superior Essays
NUR 714 Legal Case Study Analysis Paper
Dorrough v. Wilkes (2002) No 2001-CA-00117-SCT
Jonathan R. Heshler
California University of Pennsylvania

NUR 714 Legal Case Study Analysis
The purpose of this paper is to analyze and review the case of Dorrough v. Wilkes (2002). This civil case involved a female patient (Gwendolyn Wilkes) presenting to the emergency room at Boliver County Hospital, being misdiagnosed and discharged by Dr. Dorrough, dying the next day at another hospital after emergency surgery and the patients husband and son bringing a wrongful death medical malpractice action suit forth. This case displayed an unintentional tort that involved negligence on the part of the defendant and his care of the deceased. On May 18, 1994, Emanuel Wilkes, Sr. and Emanuel Wilkes, Jr. (the plaintiff’s) filed a complaint against Dr. Charles M. Dorrough, Jr (the defendant), and Boliver County Hospital (BCH) which alleged that
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It seems as though the patient was discharged from the hospital instead of being admitted and monitored. With the patient’s presenting symptoms, sustained rapid heart rate and abnormal lab values, more care should have been offered to her at the hospital. With respect to Dr. Dorrough it seems in hindsight the patient was misdiagnosed by him and because of that they did not do critical treatments such as starting heparin or another blood thinner or performing an echocardiogram.
The initial evaluation and treatment was what needed to be done differently to achieve a different and better outcome from this case. Had the patient been admitted and monitored in the hospital and started on heparin, the patient very well may still be alive. This additional monitoring should have been done due to the patients presenting symptoms, a rapid sustained heart rate and abnormal laboratory values. There would have been more than enough criteria to warrant inpatient

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