My dad passed away. And we blame the Hosipital and Insurance. Please Read! IMPORTANT!

[GuyFromFL16]

Hi everyone, something really bad just happend to me and my family recently. My dad of 51 years old just passed away recently. What happend was my dad was disabled and after a few years of taking the medication that the insurance company had him take they now decided to change it and give him new medication. My dad started taking the new medication but did not like the side effects that it was giving him so he stopped taking them. Since he stopped taking it he ended up not taking about 10 pills which made him act really weird. Anyways we started noticing him acting really strange and calling my mom saying that he was god and saying to my mom how much he wanted to get back with her by marrying her again ( they been divorced for about 13 years now ) and he never said that to my mom when he was "normal" taking his meds so we knew something was not right. My dad was living with his ex wife before my mom at the time so one day they were driving in the car and my dad took about 8 red lights and luckliy nothing happed thank god. But there was a police officer coming up have traffic moving since the light was broken or something and my dad ended up pulling up behind the police car and wouldnt move! Finally the police officer noticed and came up to the window and told him sir you need to move and my dad wouldnt say anything so the cop said whats wrong? and still my dad didnt say anything so the police guy said to get out of the car and he wouldnt so then my dads first ex that he was living with told the cop about the meds prob and how hes been acting and the cop called in an ambulance and took him to the hosipital. Anyways to the point of the story my dad pretty much didnt know who we were when we came to see him and we even filed a missing person report since we didnt get in any contact with him witthen 24 hours and finally we found out he was in the hosipital but didnt really remember who we were saying I was a very good friend of his but knew my name at least and saying he was god and was saying that my sister was his sister. Anyways a couple days later we came to visit him and the hosiptial put my dad back on his old meds so he started remember who we were again. But a couple of days later my dad was getting back to normal and freaked out when he saw himself in the hosipital not being able to leave he took the IV off his arm and had a struggle to leave in the hosipital bed. Anyways they put shots in him to get him back to sleep so when he was totally out again why didnt they put the IV back in him?? 5 days later they still didnt put it in!! He wasnt eating or drinking nothing!! Finally my aunt and uncle came to visit him when he was waking up again from his meds and WAS getting back to normal and finally remembering who we were. And that day my aunt and uncle left with him saying goodbye to them and knowing who they were etc and then about a few hours later the hosipital called my aunt and uncle and said my dad died!! That he had a blood infection!!!!!! How is that possible if he was doing SOO good when they last saw him all normal again??? He couldnt have died of a blood infection cause we woulve found out about that way before his death and wouldve been able to treat it!!! All my family is now saying we should put a lawsuit against the Hosiptial for my dads death for not putting the IV back on him and even against the Insurance company for changing his meds. Cause he would still be alive if this whole thing didnt happen with changing his meds!! Anyways I really would love to hear from any attorney from here if we have a case!?? Please get back and im sorry for such a long post! By the way im in the Florida area and my dad was 51 years old!

Let me first extend my sympathies for your loss. It isn't easy losing a parent.

The executor of your fathers' estate should promptly consult with an attorney. This would probably be his "legal" spouse at the time of his death.

As his child, you may have a survivor's cause of action, but as you are a minor, a guardian will probably need to be appointed by the court to pursue the case on your behalf.

Be advised that medical malpractice cases have an extremely short statute of limitations. Your mother and you should schedule a formal consultation with a* lawyer as soon as possible.

Good Luck.-Elliot Goldstein (attorney with offices in Tampa & St. Petersburg)

The above information is provided as a courtesy, without any consideration and without knowledge of the specific facts.* Do not rely on this information. Seek a formal consultation with an attorney.

[cbg]

Also you need to be aware that a bad outcome does not necessarily mean malpractice. It will be necessary to show that changing his meds was a treatment that falls below the standard treatment of care. In other words, if most doctors would have thought that the best treatment for him would be the new med and he happened to react badly to them, that is not malpractice. But only a medical malpractice expert can say for sure. Have a medmal attorney review your father's records quickly, as the previous poster is correct that there is limited time to file a claim.

[vrzirn]

There is NO case.
Maybe for $500 Goldstein will be happy to spend two hours on it and tell you the same thing.
vrzirn M.D.

Originally posted by vrzirn
There is NO case.
Maybe for $500 Goldstein will be happy to spend two hours on it and tell you the same thing.
vrzirn M.D.

To Vizirn:

What is your problem? Who are you to give such a flipant response? In case you don't recall, your response was given to a 16 year old whose father just died.

To the original poster:

Only an attorney, after having reviewed the facts (medical records, etc. . . ) and after confering with a medical expert, can make a professional opinion as to whether this case would be worth pursuing.

Additionally, this is the type of case that would be taken on a strict contingency fee basis. Normally, no hourly fee would be charged for a consultation with this type of case, or for any medical malpractice, or personal injury type case.

Let me add that I totally agree with CBJ.

The vast majority of medical malpractice cases are not worth pursuing, but a significant minority are. It takes a professional to make that determination.

[vrzirn]

Well, Goldstein, this is one of the vast majority!
I notice you always reply to the posters who live in Florida. This site is not for drumming up business. It is a law forum and not a support group. You may extend your sympathy but there still is no case.

[ellencee]

GuyFromFL16
I hope you're still checking these postings, as I'm answering kind of late in the game.
Someone should clear up a couple of things for you. First, the insurance company did not change your dad's medications; they changed what they would pay for, and your dad's MD changed the meds, more likely than not with your dad's permission.
Secondly, all these changes in your dad's behavior were noticed by several adults within the family, and yet, no one did anything about it. It took a police officer to get him to the hospital.
Based only on that information, I seriously doubt that the insurance company or the hospital can be held responsible for your dad's not receiving timely treatment.
Thirdly, blood infections have signs and symptoms that the hospital's health care providers would have noticed and documented, and probably did. I believe that the information you received about a blood infection was the report of blood cultures, which take several days to obtain as it takes that long for the organisms to be identified; and during the interim, I feel sure your dad was receiving 'broad-spectrum' antibiotics that would have treated all of the most likely causes of the blood infection.
I'm very, very sorry for the loss of your dad. I hope you can obtain some peace of mind over his death once the shock has subsided.
There is nothing to prevent your asking for a copy of the medical records (except that you are a minor). Perhaps someone will go over his records with you and explain things to you if you ask the physician to help you understand what happened to your dad.
Best wishes for a brighter tomorrow. ellencee

[vrzirn]

Copies of medical records do not come for the asking. They are available in response to a subpoena or a request by the legal representative of the estate of the patient. A "reasonable fee" is charged.

[ellencee]

virzirn
thanks for adding the proper channels he must use in order to obtain the records.
I do believe that a hospital rep will talk with him, or the MD will talk with him, to answer his questions and ease his mind, without a lawyer--I've known it to be done, and they don't want a lawyer involved if not necessary, I feel sure.