Re: Medical Malpractise

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No one here can answer your question. All you can do is to
consult with an attorney in your area who is experienced in
medical malpractice. He/she--and his/her own consultants--
can review the entire medical record and compare that to the
relevant standards of care in the community.

On 8/05/05, Rick wrote:
> Approximately May 30th, 2005 my mother went to the
> emergency room in Lorain, oh because her stomach was very
> swollen, sore and she couldn’t pass stool for a number of
> days. While in the emergency room, she started developing
> chest pains. The hospital decided to admit her that
> evening. She was in a regular hospital room for about a
> day and a half. I spoke to her doctor and the nurses and
> expressed concerns that her stomach was swollen and I
> wanted them to look at it. They said they weren’t worried
> about her stomach at that point, that they wanted to
> figure out what was going on with her chest. I asked them
> on the phone from Memphis, TN if it is possible that her
> stomach can be related to the chest problem, and they said
> no.
>
> The next day I called and a nurse told me my mother had
> been moved to ICU. The nurse would not tell me anything. I
> called ICU and they told me to call back in an hour or so.
> I explained to them that was my mother and I am in TN. The
> nurse then handed my mother the phone and she could barely
> talk. No one else talked to me.
>
> Finally I called her doctor again and she told me my
> mother’s oxygen saturation went down to 30&37;, so they
put
> her in ICU. I asked what could the problem be and he
> didn’t know. Again I asked if they looked at her stomach
> and she said no. I then told her that my mother drinks
> alcohol and smokes cigarettes. I also told her that I am
> the oldest and would be the one who would give consent for
> any procedures.
>
> I called the nursing station later that evening and asked
> what was going on. This time the nurse said my mother had
> pneumonia. I asked again if they were looking at her
> stomach and again they said no.
>
> I decided to go to Lorain and see my mother on
> approximately the 6th of June. I saw my mother’s stomach
> was very, very swollen. My mother was complaining that her
> stomach was very painful and she expressed that no one
> looked at it yet. The hospital had her on a CPAC, forced
> oxygen, to keep her oxygen saturation up. I asked them
> what was wrong with her stomach, they said they didn’t
> know. I asked about her lungs and this time I was told
> they didn’t know what was wrong with them as well. I was
> told they are not working well. I asked if they would get
> better and I was told they didn’t know. I was not getting
> any answers. The nurses told me my mother was very
> combative and was trying to take the oxygen mask off, so
> they kept her heavily sedated and tied her hands down to
> her side. They also told me she was hallucinating. They
> told me she was going through alcohol with drawls and this
> causes that. I told them that yes, my mother likes to
> drink. but when she came out here to TN to see us, she
> didn’t drink here and never hallucinated. I told the
> doctor that she is on medication and since she hasn’t
> taken this medicine for some time, that may be what is
> causing the hallucinations.
>
> On approximately June 8th, a surgeon called me and asked
> if I can come to the hospital. I went and he told me they
> have to perform surgery urgently. They said they have to
> find out what is going on with my mother inside her
> stomach and they were going to do this the very next
> morning. I asked about the risk and he said it is very
> risky, that she may not come out of it alive. I asked how
> she would breath during this and he said they would put
> her on a ventilator.
>
> The next day I came to the hospital to see her before the
> surgery. I spoke to the Lung doctor about her lungs and he
> still didn’t know what was going on. They took my mother
> down and performed the surgery. After the surgery the
> surgeon told us that she had Diverticulitis and he had to
> remove about a foot and a half of intestine. He said they
> gave her a bag. I asked if it could be reversed and he
> said if she lives.
> After the surgery, she still had the ventilator on and
> they kept my mother so drugged up that she didn’t even
> know we were there.
>
> I went home for the weekend and came back around the 12th
> of June. She was still knocked out from the heavy
> sedatives they gave her. Later that week, I happened to
> walk in while a doctor was seeing her. I told the doctor
> who I was and he told me he was the infectious disease
> control doctor. I asked him what happened and he told me
> that my mother has diverticulitis and her intestines
> ruptured. This caused her to contract sepsis which
> attacked her lungs. I asked him why the hospital made my
> mother sit in the hospital for 8 days before they looked
> at her stomach. He couldn’t answer that.
> After talking to the doctor, I went to the hospital
> administration. I talked to the chief nurse and told her
> that I am not getting any answers as to what is going on
> with my mother. I told her that one person says she has
> pneumonia, and another says they don’t know. I told her
> what the Infectious Disease control doctor told me and I
> expressed concerns for my mother’s well being there.
>
> I went back home to TN and waited to see what happened.
> My mother ended up coming out of it. She was transferred
> to a rehab center to help her walk again and show her how
> to take care of the bag.
>
> I am looking for some advice as to what I can do about
> this. My mother sat in the hospital for 8 days with a
> swollen stomach before they looked at it. Then it turned
> out that her stomach was a direct relationship to her lung
> problems. If they would of looked at her stomach first,
> they would of found the problem and maybe she wouldn’t of
> been so bad off. Maybe she wouldn’t of needed the bag.
>
> Now when she goes to her appointments, they all tell her
> how close to death she was, but no one will tell her for
> sure what happened. One doctor told her that she had no
> classic signs of diverticulitis. What is a swollen stomach
> and not passing anything for 7 days mean?
>
> This took a lot out of me. The worrying about my mother.
> The constant calling 3 times a day to the nursing station
> only to hear she has not gotten any better and no, we did
> not check her stomach yet. I had to drive to Lorain twice
> and leave my family here. I saw my mother the sickest and
> closest to death ever. And I feel it could have been
> prevented if they would of looked at her stomach.
>
> Do we have a case?