Is a physio therapist responsable if they didnt find a blood clot in a persons leg that they were workin on that later caused a heart attack? can they be sued?
2006-08-09 10:08:40 · 3 answers · asked by lilbrandonha 2 in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ Other - General Health Care
Only if you can prove it was there to begin with.
2006-08-09 10:13:46 · answer #1 · answered by Rachel 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Also agree that a physio therapist isn't licensed or credentialed to make the diagnosis of a leg clot or Deep Vein Thrombosis.
A trained physician has to take note of the symptoms, redness, swelling, pain in one leg and then confirm the diagnosis with an ultrasound machine which is a very accurate test for this.
On another note, you mentioned it potentionally causing a heart attack. DVT's rarely cause heart attacks because of the anatomy. If a clot breaks off in the leg and travels to the heart, it travels up the venous system to the right side of the heart. The next place it goes is to the Lungs, not the arteries that supply the heart. The lungs actually filter out 99% of the clots they receive, and if a clot gets in the lungs that is big enough to cause a problem, it causes a Pulmonary embolism.
The likelyhood of this clot cauing a heart attack is very very small.
2006-08-09 17:35:51 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. A physical therapist is not a Dr. and cannot make a medical diagnosis of a blood clot. They lack the training and ability to order the necssary tests to find a blood clot. They work under the direction of a physician just like a nurse. However if you had all the symptoms of a blood clot like redness, swelling, warmth and tenderness especially when the foot of the affected leg was pulled back towardsyour body he should have noticed and told you to go to you Dr. to be evaluated. Otherwise there is no way he could have known what was going on, and it may not have been present when he was working with you.
2006-08-09 17:25:02 · answer #3 · answered by tbo 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋