Misdiagnosed, Caused Death

six weeks ago my husband went to our local hospital in Maryland with lower chest pain, vomiting, sweating, rapid heart rate,high blood pressure and an elevated gluclose level. He was told that this was a panic attack and nothing physical was wrong. Within the weeks that followed he lost 48 pounds and on Tues. July 3 the same symptoms appeared again. He was taken to the same hospital by ambulance around 10a.m. He had an ekg, echosonogram, CAT scan, blood work and a urinalysis. They again admitted him to the hospital but apparently did not find anything and were going to release him on July 4th. The only thing that seemed strange was that they kept asking if he had been taking any 'drugs' because his urine test were coming back irregular. Ofcourse he was not. At approximately 3a.m Wed. July 4 morning he went into cardiac arrest. I was called and when I arrived he was a code blue and I was told to travel to another hospital 40 miles away because as soon as he was stabilized they were going to transport him. We arrived at the other hospital before he did. When he arrived he was on complete life support and the other hospital, also in MD, tried unsuccessfully to make his heart beat. The doctors there urged me to authorize an autopsy since my husband was only 31 and they had no idea why his heart would not respond. The autopsy revealed that he had a tumor on his adrenal gland. I was told by the pathologist at the medical examiners office that the CAT scan or the urine test should have shown signs of an adrenal tumor. He also noted this in his pathology report. I know I am grieving and I never thought I would be a widow at the age of 31 but after his first episode 6 weeks earlier, his weight loss and the tests they did the day before he passed I can not believe they could not find it. I feel the doctor 'missed' it. I have done research using the net and his body showed all the symptoms. Is this a case for malpractice? We have an 18 month old baby girl and I just want to make sure I am doing the right thing.

This is SO SAD! Yes, dear, you have a malpractice case. Get copies of your husbands medical records from both hospitals. Find a good medical malpractice attorney, and GO GET 'EM!

PamSJS