My brother was diagnosed 2 years ago with hypertension and diabetes, after he had a stroke. He took his meds for a while and then stopped because something was making his leg hurt really bad. I went and picked him up (500 miles away) and brought him to my home. He has no insurance so I took him to the free clinic and they put him back on the same meds that he was on before. Well, one of them was making his blood sugar drop really low..i.e.15 one time. Anyway, he was taken by EMS to the hospital and they kept him for a few days and continued him on all of his meds except the diabetes med. They gave him something else in the hospital. We were told when he was released to take his meds like he had been doing. Well, 3 days later he was back in the hospital. This time they had him in ICU for 3 days then released him with the same instructions. I should point out that the first two times, he passed out and we didn't know what was going on. The 3rd time we had to call EMS was because he was shaking so badly, and we couldn't get his sugar level reading. (the 1st two times we didn't have a glucometer yet). When EMS arrived they took his sugar and it was 15. He was in the ER for about an hour and a half...long enough to get a good deal of glucose and then they sent him home. Needless to say he was back in an hour....same thing...couldn't stop the severe shaking. I happened to be out of town at the time and my daughter stayed in myj home with him. I called the hospital to try and find out why they had even let him go int he first place and all they would tell me is that someone in his condition should be seeing a dr regulary. Well, he was. This all took place in a two week span. Anyway, when I asked for the ER dr's name she refused to give it to me. I tried to get him transported to a hopsital 30 miles away and the other hospital said that the ER dr would have to call the dr at the new hopsital. The dr refused to do this. Said they would stabilize him and they could drive him. After the 2nd time in the ER that night they admitted him for a day. Fianlly, a staff dr changed his meds for the diabetes. He said it was lowereing his sugar to badly. He's doing better now, but I am still fuming mad at the way the hopsital handles things. Does he have any recourse whatsoever in this matter? We aren't the first to have major problems with this hospital and probably won't be the last.
The damage is 1000's of dollars for hopsital stays
OK...HERE GOES....HE DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO SEE HIS REGULAR DOCTOR AS HE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL AND COULDN'T GET TO HIS REGULAR DOCTOR. I CONTACTED THE DOCTOR AND WAS TOLD IF THIS HAPPENED AGAIN TO GET HIM TO THE HOSPITAL IMMEDIATELY. HE MISSED 2 DRS APPTS DUE TO BEING IN THE HOSPITAL. SO HE WAS SEEING HIS DR WHEN HE WASN'T IN THE HOSPITAL. AS FAR AS FINANCIAL ISSUES....HE HAS ALREADY RECIEVED A BILL FOR $ 21000.00. THAT WAS FOR THE ICU STAY (2ND TIME HE WAS IN). MY MAIN CONCERN IS WHY THE ER SENT HIM HOME ONLY FOR HIM TO RETURN AN HOUR LATER, AND NOT LETTING ME HAVE THE NAME OF ER DOCTOR SO THAT I COULD SPEAK WITH HIM.
Lela A
Your brother needs to consult a lawyer
DC Maximus
I do not think it is. What is the damage?
davidmi711
He is responsible for monitoring his glucose readings and following up with his regular doctor (not an ER doctor) if something is wrong. The ER is NOT a substitute for regular doctors visits.
Did the ER do somethings wrong? - Who knows, I was not there. However, to successfully sue he needs to show financial damages. I don't see any in your question.
Lori
You need three things for a successful medical malpractice action:
1. An injury.
2. Negligence by the health care provider.
3. That negligence is the proximate cause of the injury.
It is often extremely difficult to established a diabetic patient on a medication to control his blood sugar, and an emergency room is not the place to do that. Your brother should have been consulting his regular doctor each time he had an incident that resulted in a trip to the ER. Each time your brother was admitted to the ER, he was stabilized before discharge or admitted to the hospital.
Overall, since it does not appear that your brother suffered any injury, and the emergency physicians were not negligent in their treatment of him (and the standard for an emergency physician is different from a family physician), I doubt you have a successful malpractice claim.
Your best best would be to make a complaint with the hospital, the health department, or the medical licensing board, although I'm not sure any of those entities would find fault with the care your brother received either.
mnwomen
Medical treatment is not a exact science. They were trying to stabilize him. He was not responding to treatment so they eventually changed it. Not malpractice or anything wrong on the ERs actions.
Caoedhen
The standard of care in any ER, and especially in a large and busy ER, is get the patient stabilized and out to make room for the next one.
Is the regular Dr not able to go tot he hospital to see your brother? I find that hard to believe.
It can take months to get the right combination of meds to keep diabetes under control. There is no magic formula or chart that a doctor can consult. Like many other medical issues, the right dosage, even the right medicine, is a trial-and-error process. Sometimes it takes a while to get it straight. Expecting an ER doctor to know your brothers past history and issues is just silly.
You have no case, although you might find an ambulance chaser to at least try. Talk to 3-4 reputable law firms. If they all say "you have a good case, BUT..." that is the polite way of saying you don't have a chance.
Orignal From: is this a case of medical malpractice?
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