Pulmonology

Pulmonologists have a duty to provide safe and effective care in the diagnosis, management, and treatment of patients with pulmonary disorders. Unfortunately, medical malpractice can occur when they fail to meet standards of reasonable medical care.

The most common causes of medical malpractice claims against pulmonology providers are misreading chest X-ray results, failure to follow established guidelines for screening, diagnosis and management of pulmonary conditions, especially wrongful death associated with failure to timely recognize signs of lung cancer, neglecting to perform necessary pulmonary function tests in obstructive disease, ignoring signs and indicators of comorbid cardiac illnesses requiring referral to cardiology, failure to promptly diagnose and treat asthma, COPD, and other chronic conditions, neglecting to follow up after treatment and check-ups, failure to recognize signs of an allergic reaction, neglecting to provide proper patient education related to pulmonary health, prescribing medications without proper monitoring or follow-up.

In cases where these errors have occurred, it is essential to have a pulmonology Nurse Practitioner review the medical records in order to determine if negligence was involved. This expert insight yields invaluable information on the damages sustained by the patient, and helps ensure that individuals who have experienced medical malpractice receive the compensation they deserve.

Few RNs have the extensive in-depth experience in pulmonary conditions as do Nurse Practitioners who specialize in this area, because pulmonology is not typically its own inpatient unit. Most consulting experts are registered nurses, with primarily inpatient experience, which does not put them in a position to opine firsthand on the appropriateness of actions or inactions of a pulmonology provider in any setting. At Discovery NP Legal Consultants, our pulmonology Nurse Practitioner consulting experts’ rates are similar to an RNs’ and is the best choice when evaluating a case involving respiratory or pulmonary conditions.