Medical Malpractice

F.L., a married man with a young daughter, went to the emergency room with complaints of abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and an inability to urinate. He was sent home with a diagnosis of urinary tract infection. F.L. returned to the same emergency room less than 12 hours later with the same complaints. He was again sent home with the same diagnosis. He died less than 24 hours later. His autopsy revealed kidney failure caused by a perforated intestinal tract. If either of the emergency room doctors had made the correct diagnosis, then F.L. could have undergone surgery and would have survived. The defense argued that there was no negligence and that it was reasonable to diagnose a urinary tract infection.