Undiagnosed Retropharyngeal Abscess: $3 Million Settlement
2025 Medical Malpractice Trial Report
By Robert M. Higgins, attorney for the plaintiffs
Lawsuit blames suboptimal CT scan in death from undiagnosed and untreated retropharyngeal abscess
Case summary
On 1/1/19, the decedent developed chest pain. He was taken to a community hospital, where they quickly diagnosed a large type A aortic dissection. He was immediately taken by MedFlight to a large Boston hospital for repair.
Shortly after arrival, he was taken to the OR for repair of his aortic dissection. Post-surgery, he did well for several days, but follow-up imaging showed what appeared to be a small collection of blood. A CT scan of his chest was performed and interpreted by the defendant radiologists. They noted that the images were suboptimal because of a scanner malfunction. Despite the suboptimal images, the defendant radiologists specifically indicated that there was no pseudoaneurysm. The plaintiff retained an expert radiologist who opined that the images were not of good enough quality to interpret and should have been redone. Specifically, the expert opined there was no way to tell if a pseudoaneurysm was present.
Other recent radiology related diagnosis delay cases in 2025:
$4 million settlement for 64-year-old man who died of Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer due to radiology error
$2 million settlement in a case where radiologist misread an imaging study that led to a delay in diagnosis of penetrating aortic ulcer that ruptured and caused the death of 72-year old woman
$2 million settlement in a case that involved a radiology misread that resulted in a delayed diagnosis of bile duct cancer
$1 million settlement in lawsuit that claimed radiology misread results in a one year delay in diagnosis of advanced cancer of the cecum area of large intestine.
See our Patient Safety Blog post:
Are Radiology Errors That Lead To Delayed Diagnoses on the Rise?
Learn more: How To Determine Medical Malpractice in Cancer Cases
That same afternoon the decedent felt faint and fell to the ground. When he came to, he had very low blood pressure and a high heart rate. A bedside STAT echocardiogram showed a large amount of fluid around the heart, causing tamponade on the heart. He was taken emergently to the OR, where a large amount of clotted blood was found and removed. There was no evidence that the defendant surgeons looked for any pseudoaneurysm while inside the chest
Over the next few days the decedent’s condition improved and the plan was for discharge to home on 1/16/19. Just minutes after his discharge, the decedent was brought back to the ED by his wife, pulseless and unresponsive. His chest was opened in the ER, and the surgeons found a pseudoaneurysm near his heart that had completely ruptured. After a period of time, the decedent was pronounced dead.
Along with the expert radiologist, the plaintiff retained an expert who opined that the surgeons on 1/8/19 were negligent in failing to identify the pseudoaneurysm that was clearly present as a result of his initial surgery. It was this expert’s opinion that the pseudoaneurysm would have been seen on imaging and during surgery and would have been repaired before rupture.
The case settled for $3,000,000 shortly before trial.
Lubin & Meyer attorneys Robert M. Higgins and Andrew C. Meyer, Jr. represented the plaintiff in this lawsuit.
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