Widow sues radiology practice after 28-year-old husband’s ‘fatal misdiagnosis’

A widow is suing Central Illinois Radiological Associates claiming one physician’s alleged failure to diagnosis a heart problem led to her husband’s untimely death at age 28. 

The case dates to April 27, 2023, when Brandon Hopps visited OSF Saint Paul Medical Center in Mendota, Illinois, complaining of dizziness, blurred vision, lightheadedness, and difficulty breathing. He underwent a CT angiogram, with radiologist Derek Beatty, DO, purportedly finding no abnormalities in the images. 

On May 1, Hopps’ wife, Laura, found Brandon unresponsive in bed. Emergency providers transported him to St. Margaret’s Health where he was declared dead the same day, with pericardial effusion the likely cause. His wife sued Central Radiological Associates and OSF in January, seeking unspecified damages to be determined at trial. 

 “What happened to this family is a tragedy that should never have occurred,” plaintiff attorney Jim McPhedran, with Meyers & Flowers in St. Charles, Illinois, said in a statement Feb. 10. “Patients trust their doctors and hospitals to make the correct diagnoses. When that trust is broken, families suffer unimaginable losses.”

East Peoria-based Central Illinois Radiological Associates—a 71-physician private practice founded in 1938—did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday. OSF Healthcare, a hospital system headquartered in the same central Illinois community, declined comment Friday. 

More on incident

Brandon Hopps had recently been diagnosed with hypertension, which referrer David Hulsey, DO, documented at the time of the 2023 ED visit. The patient reported his symptoms had begun two days earlier and were so severe he felt unsafe driving home from work. Hopps began vomiting on April 26 and had maintained a consistent heart rate of over 100. 

Hulsey ordered an EKG, confirming Hopps had a rapid heart rate. The physician also requested blood tests, revealing the patient’s elevated D-dimer levels. This led Hulsey to request the CT imaging exam later interpreted by Beatty. The radiologist purportedly found no central filling defect in the main, lobar or segmental pulmonary arteries. Hopps had normal pulmonary trunk caliber, aortic diameter and arch-branch anatomy, according to the complaint.

Beatty also reported that the patient’s heart size was normal, with no pericardial effusion. However, Laura Hopps and her attorneys contend the images showed “clear signs of aortic dissection.” Providers on April 27 diagnosed Brandon Hopps with acute pericarditis. They administered intravenous Toradol and discharged the man home with instructions to take over-the-counter painkillers and follow up with his primary care doc. 

“…Dr. Beatty had a duty to possess and apply the knowledge and to use the skill and care ordinarily used by [a] reasonably careful radiologist and to be free from negligence,” the complaint says. “In breach of the aforesaid duty, Dr. Beatty negligently provided medical care and treatment to Brandon and did not exercise the degree of skill and care that a reasonably careful physician would exercise under similar circumstances, in that Dr. Beatty negligently failed to identify Brandon’s aortic dissection.” 

Laura Hopps and her attorneys are claiming wrongful death and seeking an amount greater than $50,000, with a jury trial to determine the damages. The Bureau County Coroner’s autopsy said Hopps died from cardiac tamponade and a ruptured aortic dissection—“conditions that would have been treatable if properly diagnosed,” attorneys claim. 

 “We hope this lawsuit not only brings justice for our client but also serves as a wake-up call for healthcare providers to prioritize accuracy and diligence in patient care,” attorney Nick Flowers said in a statement. “These errors are preventable, and patients deserve better.”