Wrongful Death, Possible Malpractice

[MichiganTwinMom]

I am just curious if anyone has an opinion on this.

My mother had a double mastectomy on September 29th. She had a history of DVT and a family history of a blood clotting disorder. Even with this knowledge her surgeon did not put her on an anticoagulant drug therapy.

She was released and doing very well.

On October 15th She woke complaining of leg pain. Her surgeon made an Appt for her to go to the hospital into radiology at 3:15 for an ultrasound.

She went in and was diagnosed with a blood clot below the knee. The radiologist and surgeon sent her to the ER, she was escorted with my father and a radiology tech. A copy of the report was faxed down to the ER, she had a copy with her and the surgeons office called the ER to tell them she was coming.

She was in the ER by 4:05. Upon arrival they told the unit clerk she HAD a blood clot and tried to show them the report, the clerk put her hands up and said to give it to the triage nurse. 30 minutes later she was called back to triage, they asked what her pain level was, she said an 8 and that the pain in her leg had moved to her thigh, the nurse said, "you must be concerned about a blood clot..." which in turn surprised both my parents and the responded with "NO, She HAS a blood clot in her leg, here's the report from radiology" the nurse said to hold on to that and give it to the er Doc.

about 65 Min later ( I checked the times with the medical records) she was finally taken back to a room. 20 min later the ER doc comes in and says not to worry, they will give her Heparin and send her home, but that they would to a CT just to be sure.

Nurse comes in to start her IV for the contrast and the IV heparin. She botched the IV and went to go get another kit, my mom asked if she could go to the restroom, the nurse said sure and pointed down the hall. Now my mom had been in a wheelchair the whole time up until now as the radiologist said this was best to not agrivate the clot.

She returned from the bathroom 5 min later, got to the door of her room and told my dad she could not catch her breath, he helped her lay on the bed and she began to seize. They rushed her to a trauma room, intubated and did CPR but she was gone within 30 min.

Obviously this was a PE from a DVT. What doesn't seem rite to me is, how do you come from one DEPT in a hospital with a report saying you have a DVT then wait 2 hours to be seen and then die.

People keep pushing us to go forward with this, but I want to get an outsiders opinion on if there is any validity. Just opinions. Many thanks.

[LawResearcherMissy]

Were I in your position, I would, at the very least, meet with a medical malpractice attorney and have him review your Mom's medical file.

He'll be better able to tell you whether you have a case for malpractice.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

[lealea1005]

Were I in your position, I would, at the very least, meet with a medical malpractice attorney and have him review your Mom's medical file.

He'll be better able to tell you whether you have a case for malpractice.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

Ditto. I'm also very sorry for your loss.

[KeyWestDan]

This is very possibly malpractice on the part of the doctor and the nurse, and negligence on the part of the hospital. Your mother must have had a doctor. Did he have privileges at that hospital? Where was he/she?

The doctor is liable because of the blood clot issue. The nurse, because the nurse knowing the situation should never have let your mother go by herself to the bathroom. The hospital is negligent for the unreasonable delay in treatment.

However, malpractice is based on reasonable standards of care. You must go to a medical malpractice law firm. Do NOT go to a single practioner or a small law office with a few people. They generally do not have the resources to properly pursue a malpractice case.

The malpractice attorney has medical professionals he consults to determine the standard of care and if there is medical malpractice. In Florida, this is mandatory. The attorney can't just decide this on his own.

Even if there is malpractice, that is not to say an attorney will take the case, much less take the case on contingency. If they want you to pay, it is a weak case and you will probably be wasting your money.

Or it could be a good case, but the amount of money is too low to bother. Issues such as your mother's age, medical condition, quality of life, earning potential usually come into play, however those issues are generally when a spouse sues. As a daughter, your claim is much less and is basicly emotional injury. If you got a good insurance payoff or inheritance the other side will use that against you too.

Your only hope is finding a good lawyer to do it on contingency and work out a settlement with the insurance companies involved. They might settle up to about 50k between all of them. If you think it will be a major pay day, it will not.