Daniel E. Holloway
Email me about your case
Georgia case library

WellStar North Fulton Primary Care complaint alleges untreated infection before sepsis and brain injury

The complaint alleges that a primary care physician did not work up a patient’s fever, chills, and gastrointestinal symptoms at a single office visit. On March 23, 2017 the patient reported a week of fever up to 103 degrees, chills, cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and headaches. Dr. Sharma ordered no blood work, lab tests, or imaging, diagnosed chills and fever of an unspecified cause, and prescribed Zofran. The complaint alleges that a proper workup and antibiotics more likely than not would have prevented the patient’s sepsis and hypoxic brain injury.

System
WellStar Medical Group
Facility
WellStar North Fulton Primary Care
Providers involved
WellStar Medical Group, LLC / Dr. Sidharth Sharma
Pattern
Alleged failure to work up fever, chills, and gastrointestinal symptoms at a single primary-care visit
Harm
Alleged undiagnosed bacterial infection leading to sepsis and hypoxic brain injury

Overview

This page concerns a public complaint alleging that a primary care physician did not investigate a patient’s fever and other symptoms. The delay preceded sepsis and a hypoxic brain injury.

Chronology

The complaint alleges as follows:

  1. The patient saw Dr. Sharma, his primary care physician at WellStar North Fulton Primary Care, on March 23, 2017.
  2. He reported a fever up to 103 degrees, chills, cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and headaches that had lasted up to seven days.
  3. Dr. Sharma ordered no blood work, lab tests, or imaging and did not determine the cause of the symptoms.
  4. He diagnosed chills and fever of an unspecified cause, concluded the patient most likely had a viral infection, and prescribed Zofran.
  5. The complaint alleges the patient was most likely suffering from a bacterial infection that went untreated.

Alleged failures

The complaint alleges the following failures:

  • Dr. Sharma did not work up the patient’s symptoms to determine their cause before diagnosing chills and fever of an unspecified cause.
  • The complaint alleges that a proper workup would have found the bacterial infection and led to prompt antibiotics.
  • The complaint alleges that antibiotic treatment more likely than not would have prevented the patient’s sepsis and hypoxic brain injury.
  • The complaint pleads medical negligence, vicarious liability, and loss of consortium, and attaches an expert affidavit under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1.

Entities and tags

WellStar North Fulton Primary CareWellStar Medical Group, LLCDr. Sidharth SharmaSepsisHypoxic brain injuryFulton CountyDelayed or missed diagnosisInfectionBrain or spine injuryAnesthesia and airwayPrimary careFamily medicine