$1.6 Million Medical Malpractice Settlement For Delayed Diagnosis Of Child’s Hip Dysplasia

Mia was four months old when the Defendant radiologist read an X-ray of her left hip as normal and showing no dislocation. Unfortunately, the X-ray showed that Mia had a dislocated hip, and Defendant’s misread of the film delayed the diagnosis of Mia’s hip dysplasia for more than two years. We claimed that the delayed diagnosis effectively eliminated less invasive, non-surgical medical management to try to correct the condition, and worsened Mia’s prognosis. We claimed that if Defendant read the X-ray correctly: (1) Mia would have been diagnosed with developmental hip dysplasia at four months of age and treated at that time non-surgically with a Pavlik harness or brace or by closed reduction of her hip and casting; and (2) Mia likely would have had a good medical outcome. Instead, because of the delay in diagnosing Mia’s condition due to misinterpretation of the X-ray, we claimed, Mia likely will develop an abnormal hip leading to early arthritis in the hip joint and hip replacement surgery at a relatively early age.

Defendant denied that his failure to read the X-ray as showing a dislocation was a breach of the applicable standard of care, or that Mia suffered any material harm as a result. More specifically, Defendant maintained that even if he had read the X-ray as showing a dislocation and the diagnosis led to immediate medical care, Mia likely would have required the same surgery and her medical condition and course of treatment otherwise would not have been materially different. Defendant denied that Mia has a poor prognosis or that she likely will require hip replacement surgery at an early age.

Defendant’s insurance coverage was a $2 million wasting insurance policy, or a policy that reduced by the attorney’s fees and costs incurred to defend the claim. We settled Mia’s claim and the loss of consortium claims of her mother and father before filing a lawsuit for $1.6 million. We engaged a professional trustee who engaged a professional investment advisor to manage Mia’s settlement funds for Mia’s future.