18th Century Mathematician
Provides Key Link in Case
Thanks to Rev. Thomas Bayes for his help in winning this case.
After a two-week trial, a Sedgwick County, Kansas, jury returned a verdict in
favor of the surviving spouse and two children of a 37-year-old assembly-line
worker. The jury found the defendant physician 75 percent at fault and the
decedent 25 percent at fault, with damages of $1 million, for a net judgment in
favor of the plaintiffs of $750,000. Vic Bergman and Steve Six tried the case.
Initially, this case seemed difficult on liability because the defendant's
actions appeared to comply with generally accepted standards of medical care.
But, there is a big difference between a doctor who goes through the motions of
collecting facts and ordering tests, and one who truly understands the
significance of those facts and the implications of the test results.
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In This Issue:
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| On January
25, 1993, while loading boxes at work, Darrel Johnson experienced substernal
chest tightness, radiating to his right arm, shortness of breath and diaphoresis
(sweating), which resolved in five to ten minutes with rest. 911 was called.
Mr. Johnson was taken to the St. Francis Hospital Emergency Department for
evaluation. The emergency department physicians did all of the right things. Mr.
Johnson had a family history of heart disease, a high non-fasting cholesterol,
was a 20-year smoker, and had one prior episode of chest symptoms two days
earlier while waxing his car. The ER evaluation ruled out myocardial infarction
as the source of the symptoms, leaving angina (myocardial ischemia) at the top of
the differential diagnosis. The defendant-internist, Dr. Thanh Truong, then
admitted the patient for further evaluation. Dr. Truong's plan was to monitor Mr.
Johnson overnight, and, if there was no recurrence of symptoms, to perform stress
electrocardiography
Continued on page 3
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Exhibit showing the use of Bayes Theorem in understanding the
results of Exercise Electrocardiography (Treadmill) Testing |
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