As medical professionals, doctors are essentially "hired" by patients to identify and diagnose possible health problems and recommend the most effective treatment options. In an effort to catch potential health problems, most patients willingly submit to medical tests. Some, however, do not. The death of one patient who refused such medical tests, recently lead to a lawsuit in which a doctor was sued for negligence and medical malpractice.

The patient came to the doctor several years ago requesting she perform a blood pressure reading every six months. The doctor inquired whether the man had a primary physician and recommended he undergo a physical and additional recommended medical tests, but the patient refused insisting he only wanted his blood pressure taken.

For five years, the doctor saw the man every six months and only performed a blood pressure screening. While the doctor did not agree with the patient's requests, she felt obligated to follow his requests. She did not, however, note his formal requests in the patient's medical file.

One day, the man ended up being taken to the emergency room where doctors discovered he had stage 3 colon cancer. The cancer quickly spread to his lungs and he died within six months of being diagnosed.

Upon the man's death, his widow filed a lawsuit against the doctor who had seen her husband every six months questioning why medical tests never detected the man's cancer. The doctor retained an attorney and relayed the story about the man's wishes and the agreement to only take his blood pressure.

Primary care doctors are entrusted with the care of patients to ensure they undergo certain medical screening and testing. The failure to administer those screens and tests prove the doctor acted with negligence. The case was settled out of court with the man's widow received $1.5 million dollars.

Source: Renal and Urology News, "Physician Held Culpable After Agreeing to Unorthodox Arrangement," Ann W. Latner, JD, Oct. 22, 2012