My father-in-law was transported to the ER after having a roll over accident. They never gave him pain meds for at least 6 hours. They said he was combative. I was working that day in ICU. I finally found a doc that would admit him for observation. They were going to send him home. They let him take off neck brace and everything. When they gave him meds he finally calmed down and relaxed. We took him back to the ICU. He had his neck fused together a couple years ago. He always had pain with it. They couldn't do any x-rays of it because of the titanium. They transferred him onto the bed from the stretcher and him hollering in pain. They tried to get him to do it hisself. I even told them about his neck. Anyways, the next morning I come in to work and am told they have to transfer him to a trauma hospital. When a nurse did the 6 a.m. checks they found him paralyzed from the neck down. I got to work at 10 a.m. They still hadn't called an ambulance or even immobilized his neck. He told me that the nurse was mean to him. She had taken his breakfast into his room. She started to raise the bed and he yelled in pain. He was already paralyzed and she still moves his neck! She got mad and slammed down the food tray and said, "here then, do it yourself!" And left the room. He never had a final meal. It was about 1 p.m. when the ambulance arrived. He should have been immediately transferred. The nurse or the doctor didn't believe he was paralyzed. They said he was just being dramatic. The EMS crew didn't even immobilize him. When he got to the trauma center he went straight to surgery. He had a severely broken neck. 5 days later he died. The damage was done. He couldn't sustain a blood pressure or heart beat. Anybody think this would win a lawsuit? Afterwards the staff of the local hospital seemed really scared. What should we do?
Almond
You should file a malpractice suit in civil court, it maybe a wrongful death lawsuit as well. If you cannot afford an attorney, I would be more than happy to offer any assistance. I filed a malpractice suit just recently and it is pending in court and I did not hire an attorney, simply because they were too expensive.
Bridgette B
I am not a lawyer, but by reading what you wrote, I would talk to a lawyer and let them decide. Just hand them your letter, it is all there. It usually doesn't cost anything for a consultation. I am sorry about your family's loss, this was a terrible thing to occur.
sandman
Not only should you file a wrongful death and malpractice lawsuit, you should look into filing charges against some of the people at the hospital. You should also report this to your state's medical licensing board.
maxmom56
Find the best medical malpractice firm in your area. Make an appointment and go talk to them. The consultation will be free and they will tell you whether you have a case.
I think you probably do.
Orignal From: Is This Negligence? And should we file a lawsuit?
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