A 72 year old woman went into a walk-in clinic with complaints of coughing and shortness of breath.

A 72 year old woman went into a walk-in clinic with complaints of coughing and shortness of breath. She was diagnosed with acute bronchitis and was given a prescription for antibiotics. She was told to return to the clinic if her symptoms did not respond to the antibiotics. The patient returned, the following week. She had similar complaints and was given a chest x-ray, which was normal. The patient was diagnosed with respiratory illness and was referred to a pulmonologist. She went home and suffered a massive heart attack the next day and died. In a law suit that followed, her daughter claimed that an EKG should have been ordered and that her mother should have been referred to a cardiac physician. The Dr. argued that the patient denied chest pain and angina symptoms during the evaluation and that the diagnosis that was made was reasonable.