In Lang v. Newman , Donna Lang filed suit against James Newman and Russell Firman -- two emergency medicine physicians -- for negligently failing to diagnose her stroke and failing to perform a "complete and proper physical and neurological exams."
When Lang was admitted to Cortland Memorial Hospital , she reportedly suffered from numbness in her left hand, slurred speech, facial drooping, a headache, and decreased sensitivity to touch of her left hand and foot. (It was later determined that she had suffered a stroke.)
Dr. Newman, who first treated Lang, supposedly failed to give Lang a drug which must be administered within three hours of a stroke's onset. Firman, on the other hand, diagnosed Lang with an "acute migraine headache," prescribed pain medication, and prematurely released her from the hospital.
The Cortland County Supreme Court found Newman wasn't at fault because three hours had already passed by the time Lang had been seen for treatment and any drugs would no longer have been effective. But the Supreme Court believed that, by releasing Lang prematurely, Firman deviated from a reasonable standard of medical care and caused injury to Lang and ordered him to pay $300,000 for her pain and suffering.
On appeal, the Appellate Division, Third Department, found a connection between Firman's premature release of Lang and her injuries. Lang's expert testified that if she had been required to remain in the hospital for observation "it would have become clear that she had suffered an ischemic stroke and she would have been given [blood thinners]". As for the monies awarded, the AD3 didn't find the sum "speculative nor excessive."
Justice Carpinello -- a lone dissenter -- thought Firman wasn't liable because blood thinners weren't "proven to be effective and [have] actually increased the risk of complications."
To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Lang v. Newman