Patient Dies From Lack of Dialysis

Case Overview

This case takes place in New York and involves an otherwise healthy male patient who suffered from kidney failure during a medical procedure, and as a result he was started on dialysis. He was transferred to a nursing care facility where he was to receive peritoneal dialysis on a regular basis. During the patient’s stay, there was a fire at the treating facility. As a result, dialysis became unavailable on site, and patients were to be transferred to a nearby facility for scheduled treatment. Despite these instructions, this patient missed several scheduled dialysis treatments, and after an extended period without treatment the patient expired. It is alleged that if this patient had received the care required, he could have continued to enjoy a high quality of life.

Questions to the Nephrology expert and their responses

Do you routinely care for patients who require dialysis?

I care for 125 ESRD patients on dialysis and I am Medical Director of a dialysis facility. Each month, I also care for an additional 100+ hospitalized, chronic dialysis patients.

Will you be able to review this patient’s medical records and charts to determine how he may have fared if he had received the scheduled dialysis treatment?

An assessment of his estimated survival on dialysis and quality of life, had this lapse of care not occurred, would depend on a more thorough assessment of his co-morbidities.

Have you ever served as an expert witness on a claim arising from similar issues (delay in dialysis results in death)?

It is extremely likely that failure to provide timely renal replacement therapy led to this patient’s untimely death, probably due to electrolyte disturbances.

About the expert

This highly qualified Nephrologist is board certified in Internal Medicine as well as Nephrology. he completed two Fellowships in Renal medicine New York University and Montefiore medical center, two of the most highly regarded medical institutions in the country. He is a member of multiple professional organizations including the New York Society, of which he served as President. He is a reviewer for numerous medical publications such as the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. He has published over 63 peer-reviewed journal articles and 24 book chapters. He frequently lectures as a guest speaker at engagements nationally. He is currently an Attending Physician at a major medical center and Professor of Medicine at a large medical school.

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Specialties:

Nephrology