“Misdiagnosis”, a hospital must compensate the family of a stroke victim

The administrative court of Versailles (Yvelines) recently condemned the Rambouillet hospital center, which it found guilty of a “lack of appropriate treatment” after an “error in diagnosis” in May 2018. A 68-year-old man was presented to the emergency room after loss of sensation in one hand, explains Republican Echo this Tuesday.

A bad diagnosis

An electrocardiogram and a blood test with results described as “normal” by doctors were carried out. The man, whose symptoms had disappeared, had returned home. Two days later, he woke up hemiplegic. An MRI performed at Rambouillet hospital showed that he was suffering from a stroke. The court found that the establishment had “disregarded the rules of the art in terms of diagnostic care”.

The administrative court cited “a fault likely to give rise to liability” which had “resulted in a loss of chance of escaping the after-effects of the stroke which [le patient] was a victim. The man died in 2020. The hospital will have to pay 7,841.53 euros to the latter's family and almost 50,000 euros to Health Insurance to cover the cost of the patient's care.