In NY, the standard applied to malpractice claims is whether the doctor departed from the accepted standard of medical care in either “doing something that a reasonably prudent doctor would not do under the circumstances, or failing to do something that a reasonably prudent doctor would do under the circumstances. It is a deviation or departure from accepted practice.” (NY Pattern Jury Instructions 2:150).

So the question in your case becomes: Was it a departure from the accepted standard of ER care for the Dr. to fail to order an MRI? This is a question only a duly qualified medical expert can definitively answer. Unfortunately, to get that kind of answer often is expensive because you have to get all your records and then have them reviewed by an expert. That can typically cost $3,000-$5,000.

Most people can’t afford that kind of review so often experienced medical malpractice lawyers like myself will attempt to at least preliminarily get a less expensive evaluation of the case. We do so based on our past experience (I have been doing medical negligence cases for 23+ year so I have learned a lot of medicine along the way), by reviews of medical literature, by consultation with other med mal lawyers, and by consultation with Dr’s/nurses with whom we have worked over the years.

In your case, I contacted an Emergency Room Dr. I knew and just ran your scenario by him. He said that under the limited facts you provided, the standard of care (SOC) for an ER Dr. would NOT have required that an MRI be performed. Because an MRI is an expensive test, the SOC does not mandate an MRI for all leg injuries and that the Dr. could properly rely on the xray unless there was some compelling physical examination finding which would have suggested that you had a torn tendon.

I hope this helps answer your question.

Thanks, Jim
_________________________________
James B. Reed
NY Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Ziff Law Firm, LLP
Mailto: jreed@zifflaw.com
Office: (607)733‑8866
Toll-Free: 800-ZIFFLAW (943‑3529)
Web: www.zifflaw.com
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