please help malpractice here?

What is the name of your state? Mass

I am going to try to make this simple and facts only

1. person had a stent placed into thier leg ended up with blood ifection
was treated with IV antibotics for 4 weeks sent home on antibotics

2. about 3-4 weeks later....
person now weak and fell
complaining of pain in back and shoulders
first trip to hospital tests show nothing broken.
person goes home with pain pills

few days later to much pain goes back to hospital still nothing shows

next trip person in CHF
finally admitted in to hospital complaining still of severe back pain
4 or 5 days later diagnosised with compressed fracutre in back

many tests done find out person has infection may be in heart more tests done... antibotics started by IV

person able to walk with help, to bathroom, suddenly becomes bowel/bladder incontient , stops moving legs, (person had involuneterly leg movements)
behavior changes, severe pain ,
trys to get out of bed and slips on their butt to floor (signs person losing paralysis)
antibotic therapy may have been stoped here...not sure

hospital sends her to another hospital for surgical eval
no antibotic IV running
after tests done at this new hospital find out person is now paralized and has an ifection in spinal cord, 2 broken vertabra
has surgury family told very high risk may not make it
now recovering
is there any malpractice here? person will need lots of care now
infection still in the front of the spine and in back.

there are more facts but I will wait for a response
thank you in advance for you responses

how old is this person?

just turned 69
would age matter??

What you describe sounds age related, possibly complicated by loss of bone density, compression fractures can lead to neurological dysfunction and she already had a circulatory problem because she requird a stent. Compression fractures can be very painful and don't heal similar to other fractures. If she was a smoker, much of this may have been worse. Unfortunately not everyone gets better and it sounds as if she was getting out of bed without assistance possibly with cognitive problems. Unless you have something specific it doesn't look like malpractice.

after re-reading my post I realized I left out one fact...

The infection she now has is a residual infection from the blood infection she had been treated for. (doctor told me that)
so does this mean she was sent home still infected with a blood infection?

what about xrays not showing these issues on the first visits to the hospital?
thanks...

[The initial infection is a predictable result in a small proportion of cases, and would not in itself support a malpractice claim. Blood infections often "seed" other organs or wounds, infecting them. In this case, it sounds like both happened with the heart and spinal cord infections.

The subsequent weakness is also pretty normal in the post-operative period, especially for someone of that age.

Compression fractures often do not show up on initial x-rays, so the fact that it wasn't diagnosed immediately is also common. Even if it had been diagnosed immediately, their treatment of her probably would not have been any different, since the primary treatment is pain control.

The possible heart infection is a complication of the generalized (blood)infection.

The sudden loss of bowel/bladder control and leg paralysis are alarming, but also not something that can necessarily be blamed on improper medical care.

You describe a series of very unfortunate complications, but it's a big leap to assume any result from malpractice. That's not to say there wasn't. For your peace of mind you might want someone to review the medical records.

mj40
The only aspect of your post that raises any question of negligence is the area of hospitalization when diagnosed with the compression fractures of the spine. The compression fractures put the patient at risk for neurological deficits to develop and the sepsis (blood infection, bone infection, etc.) put the patient at increased risk for a stroke and other CNS injuries. The total picture indicates a need to protect the patient by reducing the risks of trauma by putting the siderails up at all times, instructing the patient to not get out of bed without assistance from the nursing staff, and by implementing a plan of care that includes circulatory/neurological checks at least q4 or q8 hours.

The patient may want to consult with a medmal attorney. Slip and falls in the hospital usually indicate a liability by the hospital, even when the patient is noncompliant with instructions. I don't agree with liability when the patient is noncompliant; apparently the courts don't agree with me!

EC

hello and thanks for responding

when my mom fell she tried ringing for a nurse no answer as usual i tested them before and it takes up to 25 minutes for them to answer the light and then when they do it takes another 15 minutes for them to come back
on the day she fell she wanted to use the bathroom tried to get up but the bed rail was loose and pushed from the mattress she slipped and urinated on the floor , nurse says she slipped in the urine, not what my mom says.

Ive recieved a call from the doctor to explain all the details of her care she kept repeating that my mom got the best care everything was done as it should ect ect ect hospital not at fault at all...ect.....
SHe then stated that the time my mother fell, it had nothing to do with the fracture of her spine
BUT my mother now had 2 broken vertabra that we new nothing of

I am contacting a lawyer and I thank eveyone here for thier professional advice!

mj40 said:

hello and thanks for responding

when my mom fell she tried ringing for a nurse no answer as usual i tested them before and it takes up to 25 minutes for them to answer the light and then when they do it takes another 15 minutes for them to come back
on the day she fell she wanted to use the bathroom tried to get up but the bed rail was loose and pushed from the mattress she slipped and urinated on the floor , nurse says she slipped in the urine, not what my mom says.

Ive recieved a call from the doctor to explain all the details of her care she kept repeating that my mom got the best care everything was done as it should ect ect ect hospital not at fault at all...ect.....
SHe then stated that the time my mother fell, it had nothing to do with the fracture of her spine
BUT my mother now had 2 broken vertabra that we new nothing of

I am contacting a lawyer and I thank eveyone here for thier professional advice!

Click to expand...

It sounds like you may have some cause of action against the facility where she fell but not for the medical care per se, a person can get a compression fracture from sneezing. Consult with a med mal attorney.

a person can get a compression fracture from sneezing

Click to expand...

EC

ellencee said:

EC

Click to expand...

Yep, My mother had (A1AD)copd(still smoked) and osteoporosis, sneezed, pop, PAIN!!!! took her immediatly to ER, couldn't find the fracture, later PT found it on exam! 1st of several (4) compression Fx later ones from slip and fall in kitchen which exacerbated her decline, she died 4 months later of copd/CHF. That was when we learned she had Osteoporosis. I just had my bone density checked last Wed. I am at the 96% in my arm that was injured in an accident and has no load bearing exercise so I am doing very good, I don't smoke and eat healthy, I also have A1AD/copd but haven't used an inhaler in 4 years! Which all goes to show how important having a healthy lifestyle early in life can even affect genetic disorders (A1AD is genetic) later in life.

Well, sure, if one has osteoporosis or bones weakened and made fragile by some other process, one can fracture bones by simply turning over in bed or by sneezing. I don't believe the poster mentioned any such disease process and I'd hate for our general reading public to think they may suffer fractured vertebrae from simply sneezing.
EC

ellencee said:

Well, sure, if one has osteoporosis or bones weakened and made fragile by some other process, one can fracture bones by simply turning over in bed or by sneezing. I don't believe the poster mentioned any such disease process and I'd hate for our general reading public to think they may suffer fractured vertebrae from simply sneezing.
EC

Click to expand...

The only remark you gave was " "
It is true we don't have a lot of history but chronic illness, age (69) and sex (F) suggest greater risk for osteoporosis including the nature of the Fx, and I did state that a person can get a compression fracture from something as innocent as a sneeze, which is true, or from a fall, which is also true, men and women can get them and they are sometimes difficult to diagnose, heal differently than other fractures and may lead to other complicaitons. I also commented about osteoporosis and smoking in passing and there was no response, my point being that OP may misattribute the cause of their mother's problems, they even quesitoned why I asked about age. I'm sure they will have to answer a lot of questions when they see an attorney. There is certainly a problem with the falls.

A fall doesn't constitute negligence in and of itself. Older people (in fact, people of all ages) fall all the time, in all sorts of places. To expect that only hospitals can prevent them from doing so is kind of silly.

The hospital undoubtedly has policies and procedures regarding falls risk assessment and prevention. If they can demonstrate that they followed those procedures it may be difficult to prove any negligence.

By the way, siderails have been repeatedly shown to not work in reducing falls, and in fact are associated with more severe injuries when falls occur. However, they seem to make patients, families, and hospital staff feel better or something, because they are still in use most everywhere.

rmet4nzkx
In this OP's described events, I am more concerned about the possible failure to evaluate and monitor circulatory/neurological status. I suspect an undiagnosed/undetected spinal cord stroke from either the sepsis or the fall; but I suspect changes in the neurological system precipitated the fall at home, the onset of CHF, and attributed to the fall in the hospital.

This patient required prompt response to a call for assistance and probably required someone with the patient at all times (family member or sitter). After the fall, the patient was transferred to another hospital. Of all of the described events, the transfer to another facility is a real ping indicating a reason to review the records and patient complaint(s).

censored
Siderails do no more than to remind a person that the floor is on the other side of the rail and it's a long way to the floor. A truly determined oriented or disoriented person can not and will not be deterred by siderails. Four-point leather restraints and a vest restraint won't hold some patients in the bed; but a fall in a hospital is still indicative of something that should not have happened.

EC