Can I sue the hospital for negligence?

[Bali Hai Again]

So, anyone thinks I could sue the hospital

Yes you “could” sue the hospital. My advice is to have your current symptoms checked first and then retain an attorney if warranted. If you owe the hospital money, pay it. The hospital may not have been very efficient communicating with you with your medical situation, but they are very efficient at communicating with you if you owe them money.

 

[cbg]

Just a point - anyone with a filing fee can sue for anything. I can sue because I don't like your shoes. Having a winning case is a totally different matter.

 

[andycho]

No I believe you, I didn't think I had a real chance and yah, I probably shouldn't sue them anyway...they were nice to me at the hospital...thank u for ur advice....

 

[andycho]

Thanks everyone for their input...I'm gonna delete this post now..

 

[andycho]

Or can u? How do u do it? I don't see an option...damn or...

 

[Just Blue]

Or can u? How do u do it? I don't see an option...damn or...

Please don't delete. We spent our time and the info provided could help someone else with a similar issue.

 

[Taxing Matters]

So, anyone thinks I could sue the hospital

You may file the court complaint after you've done any earlier steps your state may require before filing. In many states the rules for medical malpractice claims are slightly different than for non medical negligence claims and for medical malpractice claims some states have pre-filing conditions your state has.

The real question is how good a shot you have to win something siginificant even if do you win. Because if it will cost you more to sue than your damages claim you are just throwing away money. I see several potential problems here. First, you wore that exact same shirt for several days after the hospital stay, and you'd worn it some days before that apparently. Clothes get dirty being worn so many days without washing and can pick up a lot of things along the way. You've also not gone to have the shirt tested for the virus and it may be too late for that to any good now unless it shows the same virus on it now after the washing. So one of your challenges here is proving that it is more likely than not that the second virus you have was the result of being in the hospital with the same shirt day after day. The second issue is that so far you don't seem to have much in the way of damages to show for it yet. You've not yet said that you have gotten the virus again, only that you have one or more symptoms that match the virus' symptoms. I know from personal experience (unfortunately) in many types of illnesses you may the same symptoms that are also given by some other condition. I also think that the hospital will claim that you are at fault for wearing the shirt for a number days after discharge since you should have known it would need to be cleaned or tossed out days before.

The bottom line here is that you've not given me nearly enough to say whether you'd have a good claim and you wouldn't want to provide that on an internet message board for privacy reasons. See 2 or 3 doctors who primarily doctors and hospitals for malpractice and give them all the information you have, good and bad, to see what they say about your chances to win a lawsuit with the facts you have.

You will need an attorney to handle the case anyway. Medical malpractice cases are not easy to win and can get very complicated. If you don't know what you are doing you could do your case more harm than good handling yourself. I'm a lawyer but don't practice in these kinds of cases and I would never think of trying to do the case myself. I'd get another attorney that has the experience with cases to do it. I recognize that while I have a good general understanding of the I don't know all the ins and outs of this kind of case and I'd probably screw up something too if I tried the case solo.

 

[quincy]

Although I don’t think you have a legal action against the hospital that would be easy or worth the time to pursue, you should keep in mind the statute of limitations (the time within which you must file a lawsuit).

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP&sectionNum=340.5

For medical malpractice claims, you have just one year after the time of the discovery of the injury to file (or 3 years from date of the malpractice). And, under California’s Code of Civil Practice, you must also give the health care provider notice of your intent to sue 90 days prior to filing suit.

You will want your personal physician to examine you first, to determine if the symptoms you are experiencing now are MRSA-related or if they are perhaps instead related to your original hip complaint.

Again, it doesn’t sound to me like you have an easily supportable legal action, but an Internet forum is not the place to determine that. See your doctor - and go from there.

I wish you future good health.

 

[Taxing Matters]

...but an Internet forum is not the place to determine that.

I agree, and it's something that needs to be emphasized more widely than it is now. I've heard several doctors say that they have had patients who looked up their symptoms on the internet and were absolutely convinced they had condition X, but instead it turned out to be condition Y. Some patients won't believe the doctor over what they read on the internet. I've had a client who was the same way. He was absolutely certain of what the law was and how to fix it because of what he read on the internet. He was wrong. Fortunately he came around after I explained how it works. The internet is a great resource, but for important things like legal or medical problems it can lead you astray. The internet does not replace advice on complex matters that you'd get from a professional in that field.

 

[Bali Hai Again]

Below is a step in the right direction from the internet for the “out of control” medical costs in this country:

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/medical-debt-anything-already-paid-or-under-500-should-no-longer-be-on-your-credit-report/#:~:text=Previously, unpaid medical bills were,appear on your credit report.

 

[quincy]

Below is a step in the right direction from the internet for the “out of control” medical costs in this country:

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/medical-debt-anything-already-paid-or-under-500-should-no-longer-be-on-your-credit-report/#:~:text=Previously, unpaid medical bills were,appear on your credit report.

Yes, but ... this thread is not about medical debt.

 

[xkaliburbeforesunset]

CA

I recently got out of the hospital after being in isolation room for a month cause of my MRSA virus and a bacterial arthritis of the hip. During this hospital stay, i had this sweatshirt I wore during the whole time I was staying in the hospital and when I left, I wore the exact same thing as I was wearing the day I came in. I didn't know that the sweatshirt I had been wearing at the hospital could be infected with MRSA virus. So I wore it couple of more days until finally I washed the sweatshirt with my other laundry items. Now potentially everything I washed the sweatshirt with is a virus farm. It's been about 10 days since I left the hospital and I'm starting to get the same feeling of pain I was feeling when I went into the hospital initially. Now, I heard that the hospital was supposed to get rid of my sweatshirt or anything else that I was wearing which could be caring the virus, but nobody had said anything to me or try to stop me from leaving the hospital in same infected cloths. In test results, they state that my blood culture said I'm free of the virus. So id I caught it again, most likely from the shirt, could I sue the hospital for being careless?

If you believe that the hospital was negligent in not informing you about the potential risk of your clothing being infected with MRSA and not taking appropriate measures to prevent the spread of the virus, you may consider consulting with a legal professional specializing in medical malpractice. They will be able to assess your specific situation, review the details of your case, and advise you on whether you have grounds to pursue legal action against the hospital. It is important to gather all relevant evidence, such as medical records, communication with hospital staff, and any documented protocols regarding clothing disposal, to support your claim. A lawyer will guide you through the process and help you determine the best course of action to seek compensation for any damages or harm you may have suffered due to the hospital's alleged negligence.

 

[Zigner]

If you believe that the hospital was negligent in not informing you about the potential risk of your clothing being infected with MRSA and not taking appropriate measures to prevent the spread of the virus, you may consider consulting with a legal professional specializing in medical malpractice. They will be able to assess your specific situation, review the details of your case, and advise you on whether you have grounds to pursue legal action against the hospital. It is important to gather all relevant evidence, such as medical records, communication with hospital staff, and any documented protocols regarding clothing disposal, to support your claim. A lawyer will guide you through the process and help you determine the best course of action to seek compensation for any damages or harm you may have suffered due to the hospital's alleged negligence.

This information has been passed along to the OP several times in this thread. There is no need to simply parrot earlier posts.

 

[quincy]

This information has been passed along to the OP several times in this thread. There is no need to simply parrot earlier posts.

I thought what xkaliburbeforesunset wrote sounded familiar.