AJR 2002; 179:837-842.
Berlin L.
After seeing in his local newspaper an advertisement headlined "A Heart Scan Saved My Life" that included a testimonial of a smiling middle-age man, a 43-year-old man scheduled himself for a CT cardiac scoring examination at the freestanding imaging center that had sponsored the ad. When he appeared for the test, the man explained to the radiology technologist that although he was "feeling fine," he wanted to "make sure I have no heart disease." The man had no referring or family physician. The patient underwent the CT, and a radiologist later reported that the CT disclosed no calcification in any of the coronary arteries. The CT report, summarized with the statement "No calcifications found; very low likelihood of obstructive coronary disease," was given to the patient. There was no further contact between the patient and any personnel in the imaging center.
Twenty-three months after the CT was performed, the radiologist was served with notice that both he and the imaging center were being sued for medical malpractice by the patient's family. The legal complaint alleged that the patient had undergone CT screening at the imaging center "for the purpose of having a radiologic evaluation to determine whether coronary artery disease was present," but that the defendants "failed to accurately perform and interpret" the study. The lawsuit further alleged that the CT performed on the patient was "erroneously reported as showing a zero calcium score, when in fact the patient was suffering from extensive coronary disease." As a result of these "careless and negligent acts," charged the lawsuit, the patient died suddenly of a myocardial infarction 11 months after the CT was performed.