My wife had a car accident and was taken to ER. She was complaining of chest pains. and the Seatbelt marks were clearly visiable on her chest where it had brused her.. they check her out exrays. ct scan,etc. after about 4 hrs came in said she was fine just brused and she would be sore. well few days went by she got worse .had fever .. finally went back. and they xrayed her again and found out she had fractured ribs.... come to find out. they did NOT even exray her chest the first time she was there.... even after she was complaining of CHEST PAINS.... she could have died in her sleep those two days she was home.. you are not to lie down with fractured ribs can puncture your lungs. or heart.... to me the HOSPITAL ER was Negligent... am I right....???????
Saliva addict
Every State has a Board of Medical Examiners...write to them...and send as much documentation as you can.
Sagebutterfly
Yes they were clearly negligent. I would think it to be common sense to x-ray her cheast whether she was complaining of pain or not, since there was obviouse sign of injury on the outside any HC pro would know that there could just as easily be somthing wrong inside.
It's VERY hard to sue hospitals, or even get a lawyer to attempt it. My sister contracted a flesh eating desease in the ER, which ended up being a 4cm x 6 cm wide hole in her abdomen and no lawyer would touch the case. Your best best would be to go for a very popular low office since they'd have the most cash to back the case, and hand it over to them. If they do take it it is likely you'll win, they don't take a losing case for sure. Good luck, I'd NEVER go back to that ER again! It sounds as bad as mercy anderson in ohio!
Erik M
yea u can sue them for doing their work and checking her how it suppost to and get all the probes u can and explain that she could of die that conbince them.
saysay
Sounds like you have a suit- contact your attorney and go from there. Did they say that had done an xray or ct of her chest? If so, definitely.
butterfly
YES PLEASE DO SO I SWEAR I HAD SUCH A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH A HOSPITAL AND I ENVER DID NOTHING PLEASE DO SOMETHING OR YOU WILL LEAVE IN REGRET DO IT NOW TRUST ME ME IT WILL HELP HEAL THE WOUDNS MENTALLY FOR BOTH AND HELP YOU TO MOVE AND AND YES GET JUSTICE THAT IS NOT RIGHT SHE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL FOR A REASON AND THE BILLS THEY MAKE YOU PAY YOU HAVE TO DO IT DO IT FOR ME THAT DIDNT AND DO IT FOR YOUR LOVELY WIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!GOOD LUCK AND SUE THOSE BASTARDS I HOPE SEH IS FEELING BETTER =)
Saucy
Ok... if she's alright now, I'd just report them to the Medical Board. Is there really a need to sue them and raise our medical costs even more? People are getting sue-happy these days, and it's making care worse, docs are afraid to be not thorough or too thorough... and it's raising our costs. If your insurance company wants compensation from them, leave it up to them... But as long as your wife has healed fine, why make a big issue of it?
You say all this stuff COULD have happened... but it didn't. And she's fine. File complaints and be done with it.
Jill B
I don't think you have a leg to stand on and feel the same as the above poster who says if she is now fine, why would you become entangled into a years long process against very rich powerful lawyers in which you most likely wouldn't win even if your wife did still have damage.
I am not a lawyer so this is my opinion, but I don't think you can sue over what COULD have happened. It didn't, she's fine, case closed. I find other strange parts of your story. If after 4 hrs she was released, I'm assuming your wife was conscious at all times. Did she have an x-ray or not? She should be able to remember this. It's also very possible x-rays were taken and either them or the report were lost when you came back in. Then, if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, its probably a duck. You say she had a clearly visable bruise on her chest where the seatbelt was. If she was bruised from the seatbelt then most likely she would complain of pain there. Also, it is very possible that whether or not x-rays were actually taken, her ribs weren't fractured, but were made more vulnerable by the accident and she fractured them after she got home. Are you also trying to say that the millions of people who fracture ribs every year have to sit or stand for weeks/months until their ribs heal? Um, not true. It is not a restriction that you can't lay down with broken ribs. Finally, had they taken and x-ray and found that your wife had a couple fractured ribs, your outcome would most likely if not definitely be the same: send her home and say she'd be sore. There is nothing that can be done for fractured ribs. Take some pain meds and let 'em heal.
Lawsklnow
You can sue, but with the facts that are given, you don't have a case that would satisfy the requirements needed to establish negligence.
There are 4 necessary components needed to prove the civil tort of negligence:
1) Duty of Care - you have to prove that the offender owes you a duty of due care. (Here you HAVE established that because they are a hospital treating patients)
2) Breach of that Duty - you have to prove that the hospital failed to conform to required standard of care; which means that, in your case, did they give the same treatment to your wife that other hospitals/doctors would have reasonably done. (If your facts are correct regarding no chest xrays, then this component COULD BE satisfied)
3) Causation - you have to prove that what the hospital did OR didn't do was the CAUSE of your wife's injuries (such as if she didn't have xrays & she suffered a punctured lung directly caused by the rib fracture). Given the facts you have provided, your wife didn't actually suffer any further injury because the hospital didn't give her chest xrays. (Therefore, the burden of proof regarding this element is NOT met.)
4) Injury in fact/Damages - you have to prove that an actual injury or loss must have resulted from the incident. You only mention that your wife developed a fever and could have been injured. So, really, no compansable injury is present. (This element is also NOT meant)
If even one of the above is absent, there is NO WAY POSSIBLE to substantiant a claim for negligence.
American Law does not provide for "what ifs", only for "actual offenses".
So, although you have a right to be upset, you don't have enough to sue and be successful. What you can do is file a complaint with the hospital and/or your state's medical board. They will investigate the case and may or may not discipline those medical professionals involved.
BEST WISHES FOR YOUR WIFE'S SPEEDY RECOVERY!
Orignal From: Can I sue hospital for negligence??
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