Patient v. Radiologist, Rutherford County, Tennessee; Spring 2009. Eric Miles and Phillip North

In April 2009, Eric Miles and Phillip North obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a local radiologist in a medical malpractice case. The plaintiff claimed she was improperly diagnosed with advanced lung cancer when the radiologist included the results of another patient’s chest x-ray in a report on an imaging study obtained for the plaintiff. The radiologist admitted that his actions represented a deviation below the recognized standard of acceptable professional practice. Despite this admission of negligence, the case was taken to trial based on the defense that the radiologist’s deviation below the standard of care did not cause any injury to the plaintiff. After a three day trial, a Rutherford County jury returned a verdict in favor of the radiologist, finding that his negligence had not caused any injury to the plaintiff. The defendant then sought and was awarded his discretionary costs and a judgment against the plaintiffs for those costs was entered.