Lawsuit Raises Troubling Questions About Medical Misdiagnoses
The Radiology Group, a diagnostics services provider based in Atlanta, GA, agreed to pay $3.1 million in a federal lawsuit accusing it of using unlicensed labor from India to interpret patient radiology scans. There is evidence of radiologists at the company approving whatever results the unlicensed workers returned in as little as 30 seconds.
Though The Radiology Group agreed to settle, the settlement does little to address the harms that may have occurred due to the conclusions of unlicensed workers.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC), the settlement money will not go to patients who may have been misdiagnosed through the diagnostic providers’ shortcuts. The settlement also does not identify if, or how many, patients were misdiagnosed.
Instead, the settlement will pay federal and state governments for The Radiology Group’s misrepresentation of services to federal health care programs. While that may be a start to holding the company accountable, it doesn’t do anything to help the people whose scans were interpreted by non-experts.
Additionally, the medical boards that are meant to protect patients have come under fire in the past for allowing potentially dangerous doctors to continue practicing.
As the AJC reports on this case:
“The Radiology Group is accredited by the Joint Commission, an organization that evaluates hospitals and other health facilities nationwide. Anyone who looks up The Radiology Group on the Commission’s website will simply see that the group has addressed nationwide issues, and is accredited with the Joint Commission’s standard ‘Gold Seal of Approval.’”
In a statement released on their website, The Radiology Group called the allegations against them “significantly dated” and placed “a single radiologist who did not follow direction or appropriate protocols and was ultimately terminated” at the crux of the “services at issue.”
Whether related to the claims against The Radiology Group or otherwise, if you suspect you have been the victim of medical negligence, contact our personal injury attorneys today for a free evaluation of your case.
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