is this grounds for malpractice?

What is the name of your state?One year ago i adimited myself into the emergency room due to tightness in my chest and difficulty breathing. At the time i was 29 , in good shape, worked out at the gym 3-4 times a week and have always been drug-free. the admitting doctor told me i may have suffered a heart attack and told me that i needed to admit myself to their cardiology department despite the fact that i had no medical insurance and if i were to leave the ER i may "drop dead". so i take his advice reluctantly and they keep me for 3 days running tests.

After MANY EXPENSIVE tests, they can find NOTHING wrong with me. And now i'm saddled w/ a $12,000 + bill which i am unable to pay. Is there anything i can do ? i really feel like i got scammed.

other details: happened in california. at the time my employment situation was iffy- putting me under a good amount of stress and somewhat sleep deprived, did some research after this happened and believe what happened to me was a panic attack.

i was turned down for finnacial assistance by the hospital and state.

If anyone can please advise me on what i can do i would appreciate it.

Tomtom04
Make arrangements to pay the bill and itemize your income tax deductions.

Don't assume because nothing showed up that you were not having cardiac symptoms. You should include cardiac check-ups as part of your yearly physical exams and any time you experience any chest or breathing discomfort, you should seek prompt medical attention. Lifting weights may not be the physical exercise for you, either.

You received proper medical care and the financial obligation that goes along with it.

Best wishes,
EC

Unfortunately I agree... the symptoms you desribed briefly would give any compentant doctor a reason to conduct more extensive tests... if there HAD been a problem and they HADN'T advised staying for those tests you could have had worse problems, and well, I'm sure you can imagine the liability then... no one forced you to stay, all they did was advise strongly, which is not wrong for them to do.

I do feel for your situation as I've been there personally too... but unfortunately, unless there's more to the story than you've given, that doesn't sound like grounds for malpractice to me.


***I am NOT a lawyer, nor am I educated in law in any way... this is simply my opinion based on my experience working in the medical field***

Wow, I have to agree with the other's opinions, but you have my sympathy. There is something terribly wrong with our system when we get bills this high just for tests. If we don't happen to be lucky enough to have insurance,
we get seriously screwed. I would just tell the hospital you can't pay this
bill. See what they say. Sometimes people will surprise you and are willing
to work with you on stuff like this. Good luck.