[Verified Answer]: Scenario 5.1 Mrs

Scenario 5.1 Mrs. Laird was treated in the emergency department at Beach Hospital after suffering injuries during a bicycle accident. The emergency department physician did not order x-rays. Mrs. Laird was discharged and, after visiting her family physician, learned that she had fractured her foot. Because of the delay in diagnosis and appropriate treatment, Mrs. Laird’s fracture healed inappropriately and she now walks with a limp and can no longer meet the requirements of her employment. Mrs. Laird filed a lawsuit against Beach Hospital and the emergency department physician who discharged her. Her attorney wants to seek economic and noneconomic compensatory damages and punitive damages. Consider the following: 1.what cause of action will the lawsuit be based on? What elements must be proved? 2. If you were Mrs. Laird’s attorney, what type(s) of damages would you seek? In other words, do you agree with Mrs. Laird’s attorney and the damages he wants to obtain? 3. mrs. Laird receives monthly disability payments. If she wins her lawsuit, what tort reform measure applies to the fact that she receives these payments? 4. what other tort reform measures might be applicable to this case? 5.was there a contract between Mrs. Laird and the emergency department physician? If so, did the emergency department physician commit a breach of contract?