A wrongful death lawsuit has

been filed against Fayette Community Hospital and an emergency room doctor

for several alleged errors that contributed to the death of a 28-year-old

man in 2002.

In the suit, Jill Y. Daniel

claims her husband Brian C. Daniel was sent home after being treated for

chest pains in the hospital's emergency room in the early morning

hours of Aug. 28, 2002. Two hours later, a radiologist for the hospital

reviewed Brian Daniel's chest X-ray and caught something the emergency

room doctor missed, according to the suit: "an enlarged heart with

increased markings" which was "unusual" for a 28-year-old

patient.

Although that radiologist contacted

another emergency room doctor to call Daniel back in for more tests, the

suit claims Daniel never received a phone call from the hospital.

He died later that afternoon,

approximately eight hours after the alleged error was caught by the radiologist,

the suit contends.

A lawsuit generally represents

one side of a particular issue. The hospital is expected to file a formal

response to the lawsuit in coming weeks.

Although hospital officials

declined to comment about the suit, they did indicate while radiologists

are not on site, they are available on an on-call basis.

In addition to misdiagnosing

the X-ray, the suit contends Dr. James V. Robinson also failed to take

a complete medical history on Daniel and failed to order more extensive

tests to properly diagnose the problem.

The suit, filed last week in

Fayette County Superior Court, also alleges the hospital should have had

a certified radiologist at the hospital when Daniel was treated.

Mrs. Daniel is seeking financial

damages to compensate for the loss of her husband in an amount to be proven

at trial in excess of $10,000.

An autopsy determined that

Brian Daniel died of "aortic dissection with associated massive cardiac

tamponade and right hemothorax," the suit states.