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Undiagnosed Collapsed Lung for an unknown time

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breezymom

Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

My fiance is in the hospital, right now, due for lung surgery, today.

He has been in and out of the ER three times over the past year and while there, they at least checked his heart, since he was having heart symptoms.

For at least three months, he's had a thumping in his chest. His regular doctor kept telling him it was "just gas," and not checking out anything, much.

It wasn't until we went to one of the minute clinics that the time was actually taken, he was listened to, and found that half his left lung had collapsed.

I know this isn't *my* legal business, but he's a little occupied, right now, in the hospital (been there for nearly two weeks, now). The lung has not healed correctly and they have to do surgery, today, for a large pnemothorax.

He thinks it may be from a motorcycle accident 3 years ago (due to the injuries he received from that).

Anyone have any idea in what way I can tell him to go/start looking?
 


ecmst12

Senior Member
He could not have had a collapsed lung go unnoticed for 3 years, or even 1 year. Listening to breath sounds is part of the basic physical assessment that would have been done every time he went to the doctor or to the ER. "Thumping in chest" symptoms would not have sent doctors looking for a lung problem though.
 

barry1817

Senior Member
medical, statute of limitations

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

My fiance is in the hospital, right now, due for lung surgery, today.

He has been in and out of the ER three times over the past year and while there, they at least checked his heart, since he was having heart symptoms.

For at least three months, he's had a thumping in his chest. His regular doctor kept telling him it was "just gas," and not checking out anything, much.

It wasn't until we went to one of the minute clinics that the time was actually taken, he was listened to, and found that half his left lung had collapsed.

I know this isn't *my* legal business, but he's a little occupied, right now, in the hospital (been there for nearly two weeks, now). The lung has not healed correctly and they have to do surgery, today, for a large pnemothorax.

He thinks it may be from a motorcycle accident 3 years ago (due to the injuries he received from that).

Anyone have any idea in what way I can tell him to go/start looking?
If you think that the doctor missed something, and something so serious, you would want an independent review of the records, and have that explained to you. That would be the doctor's records, the clinic records, and the actual treatment records.

At that time you would have a basis as to if anything was missed, wrong or negligent. Sometimes bad things have happened but not forseen.
 

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