3westiebabies
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA
I was diagnosed with lung cancer in January of this year. I've had several hospital stays since ending my chemo and radiation and believe that this is partly due to doctor error.
A few weeks after my last treatment I was rushed to the hospital with a severe pain in my ribs. Once at the hospital I was given all kinds of pain killers. Dilaudid. A morphine pump and god knows what else. After a short time I became almost completely out of it. One minute I was in the ER and the next thing I remember I am in a room with 4 doctors standing over me and about 5-8 nurses running around, I can't breath, I have a nurse screaming in my ear to BREATH, and I was out of it again. I came to again with one of the doctors asking me if I'd had a recent weight gain, which according to him would explain the apnea that I had fallen into at that time. Again, I went out. When I came to again I gasped to one of the doctors if I was going to die. He didn't respond at all to me so I asked again. What's wrong with me? And he said, "You were given too much pain medication." I heard him. My husband heard him. The nurses heard him. I don't know which of the gaggle of doctors was the one that called for this OD of pain meds but ever since that hospital stay I have had nothing but problems with my lungs. COPD. Blood clots. A collapsed lung. Pulmonary hypertension. The inability to keep my oxygen level up (I need oxygen 24 hours a day now). I've been hospitalized 2 other times since that one visit and both times it was problems with my lungs - according to my oncologist - not related to cancer. Of course I can't get anyone to admit that something went terribly wrong that day, I keep hearing that medicine is not an exact science but what is that. A get of jail free catch phrase?
I should also note that on another hospital stay, when my lung collapsed, not only did the surgeon screw up his first attempt to put a tube in my back, resulting in extreme pain and 6 unnecessary stitches but he refused to do the procedure in an OR. He said it was too expensive to open up the OR so "we just do it in your bed". Nothing sterilized. When his first attempt didn't work he finally conceded that he did need to take me to the OR and that's where he went in for a second time to put in the tube. I should add that this surgeon turned out the be the same doctor who asked me if I'd gained a lot of weight during my OD visit (trying to justify the apnea that I'd developed)
Is there any case here for me to sue?
I was diagnosed with lung cancer in January of this year. I've had several hospital stays since ending my chemo and radiation and believe that this is partly due to doctor error.
A few weeks after my last treatment I was rushed to the hospital with a severe pain in my ribs. Once at the hospital I was given all kinds of pain killers. Dilaudid. A morphine pump and god knows what else. After a short time I became almost completely out of it. One minute I was in the ER and the next thing I remember I am in a room with 4 doctors standing over me and about 5-8 nurses running around, I can't breath, I have a nurse screaming in my ear to BREATH, and I was out of it again. I came to again with one of the doctors asking me if I'd had a recent weight gain, which according to him would explain the apnea that I had fallen into at that time. Again, I went out. When I came to again I gasped to one of the doctors if I was going to die. He didn't respond at all to me so I asked again. What's wrong with me? And he said, "You were given too much pain medication." I heard him. My husband heard him. The nurses heard him. I don't know which of the gaggle of doctors was the one that called for this OD of pain meds but ever since that hospital stay I have had nothing but problems with my lungs. COPD. Blood clots. A collapsed lung. Pulmonary hypertension. The inability to keep my oxygen level up (I need oxygen 24 hours a day now). I've been hospitalized 2 other times since that one visit and both times it was problems with my lungs - according to my oncologist - not related to cancer. Of course I can't get anyone to admit that something went terribly wrong that day, I keep hearing that medicine is not an exact science but what is that. A get of jail free catch phrase?
I should also note that on another hospital stay, when my lung collapsed, not only did the surgeon screw up his first attempt to put a tube in my back, resulting in extreme pain and 6 unnecessary stitches but he refused to do the procedure in an OR. He said it was too expensive to open up the OR so "we just do it in your bed". Nothing sterilized. When his first attempt didn't work he finally conceded that he did need to take me to the OR and that's where he went in for a second time to put in the tube. I should add that this surgeon turned out the be the same doctor who asked me if I'd gained a lot of weight during my OD visit (trying to justify the apnea that I'd developed)
Is there any case here for me to sue?