NL Radiologist Suspended for Second Time
X-Ray Errors
Central Newfoundland Regional Health Authority has suspended a radiologist for the second time since 2007. Dr. John Ozoh was removed from his duties after a review of 2,500 of Ozoh’s radiology reports. 20% of the reports required “edits” and 120 of the errors were:
“…potentially clinically significant,”
according to the Health Authority.
Does “Clinically Significant” Mean Dangerous?
Maybe. Say for example a doctor misreads an x-ray showed signs of lung cancer. Cancer can kill you. So that error would be both clinically significant and dangerous.
But say the x-ray shows what looks like a tumour. A biopsy shows that the tumour is benign (harmless). In that case the mistake was clinically significant, but not dangerous, because the tumour wasn’t cancerous.
Sometimes You Can’t Tell
The problem is that sometimes (many times) you cannot tell if an abnormality on a diagnostic image is harmless or dangerous without doing further tests.
That is where the problem lies. If Ozoh has misread diagnostic reports that resulted in patients not getting proper medical treatment, people may have been injured, or died, because of his failure to identify “clinically significant” abnormalities.
Doctor Has Not Admitted Doing Anything Wrong
Ozoh has indicated he will appeal his suspension.
Want More Information?
CBC has reported that an information line has been set up for patients. The number is difficult to find since it is buried in the Health Authority website.
If you would like more information, call their toll free number at 1-877-705-6326
If you or a loved one have suffered injuries that you think may be due to medical malpractice you can buy a copy of my book: The Consumer’s Guide to Medical Malpractice Claims in Canada: Why 98% of Canadian Medical Malpractice Victims Never Receive a Penny in Compensation on Amazon.
Or you can contact me through this blog or by calling us toll free in Atlantic Canada 1-877-423-2050 and we will send you a copy, free of charge, anywhere in the Maritimes.
