Medical Malpractice Do I have a negligence/malpractice case?

[audrae]

My mom was admitted into an LTAC unit of a hospital for wound care management. She had scleroderma and end stage renal disease. She was afebrile and not septic prior to admission. During the hospital stay, she developed sepsis. For almost a week, she experienced hypotension but was not given IV fluids or vasopressors to maintain her blood pressure. It took her being hypotension for a week before she was placed on Levophed. She was never transferred to the ICU and we were never told she had sepsis. She was a modified code (CPR and defibrillation). On the day she died, she was treated as a DNR although there were signed resuscitation orders for CPR. There is no documentation in the chart to show that CPR was done. The doctor who pronounced her dead charted that she was a DNR and this is not true. There were several times that we visited the facility and her meal tray was just sitting in the room. Because of her weakness, she needed help with eating. The nurse practitioner making rounds charted that the nursing staff reports giving her bolus feedings per NG tube. My mom never had an NG tube or PEG tube while hospitalized. Does it sound like it is worth me talking face to face with an attorney regarding this?

 

[Proserpina]

I think getting her records and going to see an attorney might be a good idea, yes.

I can't comment on whether or not there's a case, but if nothing else what you were told doesn't seem to match what was actually going on and for that reason alone, I think it'd be worth it.

I'm sorry for your loss, too.

 

[audrae]

Thank you for offering condolences. I have her records already. Are you an attorney?

 

[Proserpina]

No, I'm not, sorry. We can't give referrals here either, but the vast majority of med-mal/personal injury/wrongful death attorneys will offer a first consultation for free. You can check many of them online too through various "attorney rating" sites - just be aware that some attorneys actually pay for positive reviews.

I do wish you luck, and this must be difficult for you in an already difficult time.

Stay strong

 

[Betty3]

I agree that in your case (based on what you posted) it wouldn't hurt to have her records reviewed by a medical malpractice attorney. You might also be able to get a referral from your local or state bar assoc.

I'm sorry for your loss.