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Wrongful death?

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jkeep

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

My 96 year old otherwise healthy mother was admitted to a hospital in NJ for a broken ankle and slight fever on 9/2. They said she might also have a slight urinary tract infection. They gave her Keflex. According to her medical records (on 9/9), "possibility of the patient having developed acute interstitial nephritis from the antibiotic." She died a week later on 9/16 after total renal failure.Do I have a case for wrongful death?
 


LdiJ

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

My 96 year old otherwise healthy mother was admitted to a hospital in NJ for a broken ankle and slight fever on 9/2. They said she might also have a slight urinary tract infection. They gave her Keflex. According to her medical records (on 9/9), "possibility of the patient having developed acute interstitial nephritis from the antibiotic." She died a week later on 9/16 after total renal failure.Do I have a case for wrongful death?
The problem I see is your mother's age. People are so fragile at that age, even if otherwise healthy, that it would be hard to prove that the hospital did something wrong that caused her death.
 

Indiana Filer

Senior Member
LdiJ is right. Your mother already passed the life expectancy for a person born in 1919, and was very elderly. Even if in good health, at 96, things can change quickly.

My condolences on the loss of your mother. No matter how old you are, losing your mother is hard.
 

eerelations

Senior Member
The problem I see is your mother's age. People are so fragile at that age, even if otherwise healthy, that it would be hard to prove that the hospital did something wrong that caused her death.
Agree. My mother died at 82 basically due to a broken arm. Had she been 62 and broken her arm, she wouldn't have died of it.
 

Proserpina

Senior Member
Actually the problem isn't with Mom's age (that would be the next problem, if the first passed muster...).

The problem is that there is always a risk that a medication will result in an unavoidable bad outcome. The patient just reacts poorly, and it spirals downwards and a bad outcome by no means indicates wrongdoing.
 

quincy

Senior Member
I agree with Proserpina that age is not the major problem here.

Age is only one factor of many that needs to be considered when deciding whether to pursue a wrongful death action. Age primarily plays a role in a wrongful death action when damages are determined.

There are many cases, for example, where nursing homes have been held liable for the deaths of their elderly residents due to neglect, and there are many cases where hospital/medical staff have been held liable for the deaths of their elderly patients due to medical errors. Settlement/Award amounts in these cases can be substantial.

Even though I agree with LdiJ that it could be difficult to prove that errors were made that directly resulted in the mother's death, it could be smart for jkeep to review all facts with an attorney.
 

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