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Wondering If I have Any Recourse

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Browns7213

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

Hi,

I wanted to see if anyone thought I had a malpractice case. Will try to give the readers digest version and happy to provide more detailed answers.

Started having terrible stomach pains and after an ER visit, where X-ray and CAT scan showed no issues, was referred to a gastroenterologist (GE)

GE recommended upper & lower endoscopies to diagnose cause of pain

During home prep for procedures I vomited multiples time trying to get the bowel cleanser down

Called GE late that evening to inform him of vomiting and asked whether procedures should be postponed. GE stated we could at least do the upper endoscopy

Next day arrive at GE outpatient clinic for procedure

When The GE was removing the scope I spewed bile & stomach acid and aspirated the bulk of it causing a chemical burn to 90% of the surface of my lungs

I was rushed to a local hospital where I was placed in a medically induced coma and put on a respirator

After a few days I went into septic shock and experienced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)

I was life-flighted from the local hospital to a city hospital about 30 miles away, according to the local hospital I would have been dead by the end of the day if they couldn't get me to the other hospital

I was surgically hooked up to an ECMO machine that removed the blood from my body, filtered & oxygenated it, and pumped it back into my body

After about a week I was removed from the respirator and a week later was removed from the blood filtering machine

I just finished 6-weeks of in-home physical therapy and am probably 70% back to normal

I now suffer from shortness of breath, constant cough and chest pain and according to my doctor the first two may be permanent. I also have leg pain and can't feel anything below both knees which may be due to lack of oxygenation and being on the ECMO machine. I had vascular surgery to close up the artery that the ECMO was attached to and now have a 6" scar in my groin.

Other things that may be of interest:
I have never smoked and am a weekend alcohol user.
I have been a fitness freak all my life and eat a healthy diet. Doctors said being in great shape most likely saved me as 60% of ARDS patients die
While in the hospital X-rays revealed that I had a partially blocked small intestine which was most likely causing pain, it corrected itself with no surgical or medical management
Upon review of the original CAT scan by the city hospital, they said a partial bowel obstruction was visible on the scans, local hospital missed it
Last week I got the notes from the endoscopy that caused this issue and it showed a medium sized hiatal hernia

Look forward to hearing your comments.

Thanks
 


FlyingRon

Senior Member
You need to take all your records to a medical malpractice attorney. We can't possibly analyze this.
However, I'm not sure what malpractice you're asserting. The hospital sending you to the GE doesn't make them liable.
As for whether the GE did anything wrong during the procedure, there's not enough information to tell, and we couldn't possibly make the determination if we did have the facts.
 

quincy

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

Hi,

I wanted to see if anyone thought I had a malpractice case. Will try to give the readers digest version and happy to provide more detailed answers.

Started having terrible stomach pains and after an ER visit, where X-ray and CAT scan showed no issues, was referred to a gastroenterologist (GE)

GE recommended upper & lower endoscopies to diagnose cause of pain

During home prep for procedures I vomited multiples time trying to get the bowel cleanser down

Called GE late that evening to inform him of vomiting and asked whether procedures should be postponed. GE stated we could at least do the upper endoscopy

Next day arrive at GE outpatient clinic for procedure

When The GE was removing the scope I spewed bile & stomach acid and aspirated the bulk of it causing a chemical burn to 90% of the surface of my lungs

I was rushed to a local hospital where I was placed in a medically induced coma and put on a respirator

After a few days I went into septic shock and experienced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)

I was life-flighted from the local hospital to a city hospital about 30 miles away, according to the local hospital I would have been dead by the end of the day if they couldn't get me to the other hospital

I was surgically hooked up to an ECMO machine that removed the blood from my body, filtered & oxygenated it, and pumped it back into my body

After about a week I was removed from the respirator and a week later was removed from the blood filtering machine

I just finished 6-weeks of in-home physical therapy and am probably 70% back to normal

I now suffer from shortness of breath, constant cough and chest pain and according to my doctor the first two may be permanent. I also have leg pain and can't feel anything below both knees which may be due to lack of oxygenation and being on the ECMO machine. I had vascular surgery to close up the artery that the ECMO was attached to and now have a 6" scar in my groin.

Other things that may be of interest:
I have never smoked and am a weekend alcohol user.
I have been a fitness freak all my life and eat a healthy diet. Doctors said being in great shape most likely saved me as 60% of ARDS patients die
While in the hospital X-rays revealed that I had a partially blocked small intestine which was most likely causing pain, it corrected itself with no surgical or medical management
Upon review of the original CAT scan by the city hospital, they said a partial bowel obstruction was visible on the scans, local hospital missed it
Last week I got the notes from the endoscopy that caused this issue and it showed a medium sized hiatal hernia

Look forward to hearing your comments.

Thanks
I am afraid we do not have any doctors as members of this forum so no one here can offer you a medical opinion - and as a first step in determining whether there is a legal action to pursue, you will want to have your medical history and your experience personally reviewed by another doctor.

If after a review the doctor you consult thinks mistakes were made that should not have been made, you can seek out a medical malpractice attorney in your area to discuss the doctor's opinion and your damages.

Good luck.
 

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