Death Due to Negligence and Malpractice?

[superbek]

Hello all,

I was the primary caregiver for my uncle (more like my father) but he passed away in late February at the age of 54. He underwent surgery at the end of January for a hernia. He never fully recovered as he continued to have abdominal and chest pain to the extent that he went to the ER via ambulance on 2/16/12. The ER was aware of his recent surgery at their location but ignored his chest pain claims and only performed an ultrasound on his gallbladder (to no avail) and sent him home.

Yesterday, I received his autopsy report and the immediate cause of death listed was a blood clot to the heart. Now, I understand that blood clots are a common risk during surgery but they are also detectable with the approriate blood screen (D-dimer). To me, the lack of evaluation at the hospital would appear to be malpractice. A man comes in complaining of chest and abdominal pain three weeks after surgery and the only action taken is an ultrasound on his gallbladder?

This all takes place in Tennessee at a "top heart" hospital. My uncle did not have health insurance which I believe may have contributed to this negligence... is this something I should pursue? No one lives forever but a script for a blood thinner very well could have saved a man's life. I don't want this to see this happen to another family.

Thanks in advance for all of your feedback.... please let me know if you need more information.

 

[You Are Guilty]

Personally, I doubt it, but the only way to know for sure is to obtain a complete copy of all his medical records (from every doctor and hospital, not just this one), and take them to a local med mal attorney who will review them for a potential case. These consultations should be free, so 1) don't pay for a review, and 2) speak to more than one lawyer.

Good luck, and sorry for your loss.

 

[tranquility]

I have no expertise here, but suspect a 54 year old man presenting to the ER with chest pains should probably have SOME workup for a heart problem. Get the medical records and take them to a malpractice doctor. If you have a case, they should take it on contingency.

 

[betachains]

Hello all,

I was the primary caregiver for my uncle (more like my father) but he passed away in late February at the age of 54. He underwent surgery at the end of January for a hernia. He never fully recovered as he continued to have abdominal and chest pain to the extent that he went to the ER via ambulance on 2/16/12. The ER was aware of his recent surgery at their location but ignored his chest pain claims and only performed an ultrasound on his gallbladder (to no avail) and sent him home.

Yesterday, I received his autopsy report and the immediate cause of death listed was a blood clot to the heart. Now, I understand that blood clots are a common risk during surgery but they are also detectable with the approriate blood screen (D-dimer). To me, the lack of evaluation at the hospital would appear to be malpractice. A man comes in complaining of chest and abdominal pain three weeks after surgery and the only action taken is an ultrasound on his gallbladder?

This all takes place in Tennessee at a "top heart" hospital. My uncle did not have health insurance which I believe may have contributed to this negligence... is this something I should pursue? No one lives forever but a script for a blood thinner very well could have saved a man's life. I don't want this to see this happen to another family.

Thanks in advance for all of your feedback.... please let me know if you need more information.

"Blood clot to the heart" could mean several things. Since you mentioned D-dimer, I will assume that your uncle died of a pulmonary embolism. They are notoriously easily missed, but his chest complaints and recent surgery should have raised the index of suspicion. I don't know if the care rise to the level of malpractice, but you definitely should present the case to a few med-mal attorneys.

 

[betachains]

I have no expertise here, but suspect a 54 year old man presenting to the ER with chest pains should probably have SOME workup for a heart problem. Get the medical records and take them to a malpractice doctor. If you have a case, they should take it on contingency.

I would agree. It is almost routine that he would have had an EKG and cardiac enzymes done to rule out a heart attack. Unfortunately, pulmonary emboli seldom causes changes in these tests.

*If* the ER docs thought a PE was a reasonable consideration, the test would be a CT pulmonary angiogram, not the much iffier blood tests available. An expert really needs to review the records to determine the extent of the hospital/doctors' liability, if any.