Medical Malpractice death of mom

[sarah]

mom entered the hospital 5/7/04 for congestive heart failure/ fluid gone by 5/9, mom complained of chest pressure on 5/9. Treadmill test given 5/10, thought saw blockage in heart. A angiogram done 5/11 in AM (a camera inserted in groin area/fed up to the heart)no blockage was found. Put on morphene/vicodin for pain that day on 5/11 to 5/16 when it was discovered had ruptured vein/had internal bleeding. Blood pooled in thigh/behind stomach. (heart MD said it was not uncommon a patient in moms condition could have a ruptured vein from procedure done 5/11). On 5/15 wanted to give a blood transfusion (mom is Jehoval Witness/knowned by hospital/she signed a paper stating she refuses blood transfusions)/mom refused blood on 5/15, the heart MD kept pushing blood transfusion until morning of 5/16, mom now having hallusiations (seeing things that were not there)/finally the bloodless cordinator told the heart MD that mom was not going to take blood (mom was the first patient that this heart doctor had that refused blood)/they did a sonagram and found the sight of bleeding was in the thigh/so a speciall shot was ordered to stop the bleeding and the bleeding was stopped/however mom had been having internal bleeding for 6 days/her brain and internal organs were oxygen starved/mom was not lucid aprox from 2p on until her death on 5/17. question: hospital knew mom refused blood/mom kept complaining of extreme pain right thigh, why did it take them so long to find out about the internal bleeding? why didnt someone see signs?
mom medical condition was: kidney failure, diabetes, CHF (mom had a fistula put in left arm about 4 wks prior in the same hospital getting mom ready for dialysis/when picking up the death certificate, the MD in charge of mom put down that Cardiac Catherization was one of the causes of death (but she put the date down of procedure to be 5/13, not 5/11 when the procedure was done.also the funeral director told me it was unusual for her to have to put down one of cause of death to be "declined transfusion due to religious beliefs"

 

[pilawman]

Hi Sarah,

I'm very sorry to hear about your mother. Please accept my condolences.

Medical malpractice claims are often very complex, aggressively defended by the doctor (and his insurer), and costly to pursue. Many expert witnesses are often needed to testify on behalf of the plaintiff. These experts can cost big money.

All of that being said, I strongly encourage you to speak with an attorney in your area who handles medical malpractice claims. Once an attorney meets with you in person and reviews the medical records, he or she can make a determination on whether there is a case worth pursuing. A lot will depend on the concepts of liability and damages.

Again, I'm very sorry for your loss. Have a nice weekend.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I'm very sorry to hear about the passing of your mother.

Have you had any explanation as to why someone may not have seen the signs? I don't want to say that there was no malpractice but sometimes this may not be as egregious as it may seem to appear. It's difficult when you are emotionally involved in the situation.

You should speak to an attorney but be aware that not only might there be costs to the case, it might be a case where an attorney feels that it is not prudent to take on as a contingency case. The attorney can give you more of an understanding as to what you may need. We can always assist you should you need to find an attorney if you would like and wish you my sincerest condolences. It's difficult to deal with all this at once.

Originally posted by sarah
mom entered the hospital 5/7/04 for congestive heart failure/ fluid gone by 5/9, mom complained of chest pressure on 5/9. Treadmill test given 5/10, thought saw blockage in heart. A angiogram done 5/11 in AM (a camera inserted in groin area/fed up to the heart)no blockage was found. Put on morphene/vicodin for pain that day on 5/11 to 5/16 when it was discovered had ruptured vein/had internal bleeding. Blood pooled in thigh/behind stomach. (heart MD said it was not uncommon a patient in moms condition could have a ruptured vein from procedure done 5/11). On 5/15 wanted to give a blood transfusion (mom is Jehoval Witness/knowned by hospital/she signed a paper stating she refuses blood transfusions)/mom refused blood on 5/15, the heart MD kept pushing blood transfusion until morning of 5/16, mom now having hallusiations (seeing things that were not there)/finally the bloodless cordinator told the heart MD that mom was not going to take blood (mom was the first patient that this heart doctor had that refused blood)/they did a sonagram and found the sight of bleeding was in the thigh/so a speciall shot was ordered to stop the bleeding and the bleeding was stopped/however mom had been having internal bleeding for 6 days/her brain and internal organs were oxygen starved/mom was not lucid aprox from 2p on until her death on 5/17. question: hospital knew mom refused blood/mom kept complaining of extreme pain right thigh, why did it take them so long to find out about the internal bleeding? why didnt someone see signs?
mom medical condition was: kidney failure, diabetes, CHF (mom had a fistula put in left arm about 4 wks prior in the same hospital getting mom ready for dialysis/when picking up the death certificate, the MD in charge of mom put down that Cardiac Catherization was one of the causes of death (but she put the date down of procedure to be 5/13, not 5/11 when the procedure was done.also the funeral director told me it was unusual for her to have to put down one of cause of death to be "declined transfusion due to religious beliefs"

 

[NYClex]

again I agree with the learned counsellors here, and I also suggest you talk to some other physician. In medicine things seldom are clear cut to the question of malpractice or not and surely no lay person, even a funeral director, can judge this. Those who should know best still are the medical professionals.

I am very sorry to hear about your loss and wish you peace.