One of the most common areas of negligence is failing to protect patients from blood clots to the lungs. Many patients have conditions putting them at risk of developing blood clots in the legs:

• cancer
• postoperative
• obesity
• bed-bound
• other illnesses

U.S. standards require that these patients be protected from blood clots by giving a blood thinner. If they develop a blood clot in the legs, the clot can break off, travel through the heart and lodge in the lungs, causing difficulty breathing and even death.

When a lab result or X-ray report shows something that needs clinical follow up, it is up to:

• the ordering physician
• the radiologist or laboratory
• the attending or primary care physician, and
• the follow up physician (often the ordering physician)

to make sure the correct information gets to the right place. Sometimes, the report is not acted upon, and a condition (like a cancer) grows for months or years until it causes symptoms.