Humiliated and discriminated

[goodgrlnteruptd]

What is the name of your state? Oregon

Can I sue the hospital and the nurse if they have humilated me infront of an entire Er staff, the people in the waiting area and anyone else in the vicinity? Plus, I was kicked out of the hospital after just recieving a shot for a migraine headache and I had no money since I only arrived in my shorts, tank top, and with my pillow from home. I had to walk home in the middle of the night crying, humilated, disrespected, insulted, and in pain due. when I finally got home I was so hysterical and terrified from walking alone in the dark I couldn't go to sleep for several hours, instead I kept getting up and pacing and feeling scared. I missed work the next morning and still am having panic attacks and anxiety. The nurse actually slapped me in the back when I first arrived because I did not answer her questions as quick as she wanted me too. I tried to tell her I was going to be sick and was trying to make sure I did not throw up on her. I then told her not to hit me again.
After I walked all the way home in the middle of the night my friend called the hospital and they told her that I left because I was mad they wouldn't give me any narcotics. This is a lie and I even told the doctor I didn't need any pain pills because I had two full perscriptions already and that I had already taken one vicodin 750 an hour and a half prior to being there and pain medications wasn't going to make it better.
Can I do anythng? I want to sue, yes sue they humiliated me made me feel terrified and scared and now I am angry and I want them to pay for the way they made me feel. They broke the patient privacy when they told my friend I left because I was made about not getting narcotics which also was a lie. My friend would not have taken me there if that is all I wanted since she is a case manager for drug court in the neighboring county.
Any advice or help would be greatly appriecated. I just feel robbed of my dignity.
There is much more details if I have any case here at all.

 

[Some Random Guy]

So you went to the ER with a headache and were given medication (a shot). Problem treated.

You brought no money or transportation to the ER and couldn't work a pay phone to call someone to get you home. Not the hospital's problem.

You say you were kicked out of the hospital. You usually have to be a real pain in the a** for that to happen. Of course that part was missing from your story.

"they told her that I left because I was mad they wouldn't give me any narcotics." - Well you could call this a HIPPA violation, except that I don't see where they explicitly revealed anything about your medical condition. Just mentioned that you are actively seeking narcotics. Perhaps the fact that you didn't need narcotics is revealing your condition.

I really doubt you have a case, and I would suspect that the ER staff has a much different story to tell than you.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

You said your friend drove you there, why drive you there and abandon you without anything other than your clothes and a pillow, didn't you have your other belongings at home or with you?
Did you ask the ER staff to call to get a ride for you or was your behavior disruptive so that they had to make you leave.
Since you had already taken Vicodin prior to arriving instead of migraine medicine, this could be seen as drug seeking when you were not satisfied with the shot wou were given.
Migraines can be fairly successfully treated especially if you were already at home, without medication, getting upset like you did, only makes it worse.

 

[goodgrlnteruptd]

I was not being disruptive I was laying in the hospital ER bed with my head in the pillow, and I did have a ride, she went to check on her children and take her husband home but she also had asked the nurse if she had time to do this and they told her yes! Also this person who had taken me to the hospital had came to my house and her and her husband had to practically carry me to the car because my children had called them and asked them to take me in because my headache was so severe. I have pain medicine and it did not do anything for my headache which I told the doctor so I told him I did not need to get any more to take home I have two full perscriptions of vicodin already. One of which is not even filled. I was not being disruptive I could not have been disruptive even if I had wanted to be! This nurse was just rude and abusive! Yes it is true! I still can not believe it myself! I never refused to leave and I did leave after she had humiliated me beyond belief! No I did not take any money with me it was not a planned outting or anything it was an emergency! I would not have cared if they were to give me just plain water as long as it took care of my headache but I was treated like a street junkie and I am not! I manage a salon in our local mall and I work many hours and to be treated such as I was is not right!

 

[luvbskts]

What is the name of your state? Oregon

Can I sue the hospital and the nurse if they have humilated me infront of an entire Er staff, the people in the waiting area and anyone else in the vicinity? Plus, I was kicked out of the hospital after just recieving a shot for a migraine headache and I had no money since I only arrived in my shorts, tank top, and with my pillow from home. I had to walk home in the middle of the night crying, humilated, disrespected, insulted, and in pain due. when I finally got home I was so hysterical and terrified from walking alone in the dark I couldn't go to sleep for several hours, instead I kept getting up and pacing and feeling scared. I missed work the next morning and still am having panic attacks and anxiety. The nurse actually slapped me in the back when I first arrived because I did not answer her questions as quick as she wanted me too. I tried to tell her I was going to be sick and was trying to make sure I did not throw up on her. I then told her not to hit me again.
After I walked all the way home in the middle of the night my friend called the hospital and they told her that I left because I was mad they wouldn't give me any narcotics. This is a lie and I even told the doctor I didn't need any pain pills because I had two full perscriptions already and that I had already taken one vicodin 750 an hour and a half prior to being there and pain medications wasn't going to make it better.
Can I do anythng? I want to sue, yes sue they humiliated me made me feel terrified and scared and now I am angry and I want them to pay for the way they made me feel. They broke the patient privacy when they told my friend I left because I was made about not getting narcotics which also was a lie. My friend would not have taken me there if that is all I wanted since she is a case manager for drug court in the neighboring county.
Any advice or help would be greatly appriecated. I just feel robbed of my dignity.
There is much more details if I have any case here at all.

I'm questioning a narcotic for a migraine. If you have been prescribed vicodin for migraines, you'd better be asking your dr. why. You should have a script for Imitrex (sp?), Axert, or something that's really made for migraine pain.

 

[goodgrlnteruptd]

humiliated and discriminated....nobody

I have the vicodin for my back I have had imatrex in the past and it did not work very well for my migraines so they changed me to zomig which worked most of the time but because it is so expensive and I do not have any health insurance I can not afford it. I took a vicodin thinking that would get rid of the headache but it did not so I was then taken to the ER. And I told the doctor this. But all of this is besides the point of how I was treated when I went in there. Humiliation is something someone doesn't just get over I am afraid to speak up and say or do anything that might cause attention to me and in my line of work that isn't possible. So what now? Do I just quit my job and hide out? I know that sueing them won't make this feeling go away but if I do nothing I think it will only make things worse. I did nothing wrong that night but I feel as though I am a nobody so it was okay for them to treat me the way they did. And from what everyone on hear has posted I guess it only confirms that feeling because everyone seems so concerened about the nurse and the hospital and assumes I was disruptive or seeking narcotics but I know that is not true so thanks for all your great advice and showing me what rights I never had at all.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

You have chronic pain, narcotic Rx are not compliant with your migraine Rx, show up at a ER rather than calling your doctor, the whole story crys out of drugseeking. What happened in the ER won't embarass you in your salon, however working in that environment might affect your health in the long run.

 

[sarahengland]

If being humiliated upsets you so much, I would suggest NOT filing a lawsuit. Every detail of your life, every life choice, especially if you sue for emotional damages, becomes an open book, and in questioning you about it, the defense attorney will be a lot more humiliating than the ER nurse ever could be. You will be mocked, no matter what your circumstances. Also be prepared to show you have a long history of making good financial choices, and not needing money, b/c even if you did have a good case, you will be accused of doing it for the money. If you were to go to trial, you will be humiliated in front of at least as many people as were in the ER waiting room, and it will all be public record.. If you're that concerned about HIPPA, know that in taking a case to litigation, you abandon your privacy completely and many complete strangers will know about your ER visit and a lot of other details you probably don't want others to know.

 

[xavi2871]

I had to jump in here...

I am 34 and have suffered from migrains since I was about 15. My mother has also suffered her whole life witht them as well. No generally narcotics do not help but I know I have had times when I would have tried anything to get rid of them. I have tried all the pills, meridian (sp), emitrex you name it I have tried them. The first time I took imitrex it was a dream and exprensive but every time since then it intensifies my migraine and I am too scared to even try it again. I have foound relpax works well for me as well. However, my stand by, which I got from my mom, is Fiorinal with codien. It is the fiorinal that actually helps it but for some reason combined with the codein it is a miracle. With younger doctors they do act like you are after drugs but anyonw with migraines shoud be able to atest that no one in their right mind would take Fiorinal w codein by choice because it makes you so sick and unable to function it is not fun.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

I am 34 and have suffered from migrains since I was about 15. My mother has also suffered her whole life witht them as well. No generally narcotics do not help but I know I have had times when I would have tried anything to get rid of them. I have tried all the pills, meridian (sp), emitrex you name it I have tried them. The first time I took imitrex it was a dream and exprensive but every time since then it intensifies my migraine and I am too scared to even try it again. I have foound relpax works well for me as well. However, my stand by, which I got from my mom, is Fiorinal with codien. It is the fiorinal that actually helps it but for some reason combined with the codein it is a miracle. With younger doctors they do act like you are after drugs but anyonw with migraines shoud be able to atest that no one in their right mind would take Fiorinal w codein by choice because it makes you so sick and unable to function it is not fun.

Please remember that OP had a Rx for migrains that worked but instead choose go drug seeking and even admitted it.
"I have had imatrex in the past and it did not work very well for my migraines so they changed me to zomig which worked most of the time but because it is so expensive and I do not have any health insurance I can not afford it. I took a vicodin thinking that would get rid of the headache but it did not so I was then taken to the ER. And I told the doctor this."
In your case rather than get your own Rx for Fioronal which you say works, you get it from your mother, both of these are drug seeking behaviors.
When you present at an ER with "migrains" rather than to your own doctor you will be very likely be considered, "drug seeking" and treated accordingly. So my advise to both of you is get your own Rx for Migrains, carry documentation with you that you have migrains for emergencies, call your doctor before going to the ER, learn their triggers and other nonmedical means to relieve Migraine pain in it's early stages.

 

[panzertanker]

I have the vicodin for my back I have had imatrex in the past and it did not work very well for my migraines so they changed me to zomig which worked most of the time but because it is so expensive and I do not have any health insurance I can not afford it. I took a vicodin thinking that would get rid of the headache but it did not so I was then taken to the ER. And I told the doctor this. But all of this is besides the point of how I was treated when I went in there. Humiliation is something someone doesn't just get over I am afraid to speak up and say or do anything that might cause attention to me and in my line of work that isn't possible. So what now? Do I just quit my job and hide out? I know that sueing them won't make this feeling go away but if I do nothing I think it will only make things worse. I did nothing wrong that night but I feel as though I am a nobody so it was okay for them to treat me the way they did. And from what everyone on hear has posted I guess it only confirms that feeling because everyone seems so concerened about the nurse and the hospital and assumes I was disruptive or seeking narcotics but I know that is not true so thanks for all your great advice and showing me what rights I never had at all.

Pain treated.
Ride is not responsibility of ER.
Humiliation is unfortunately part of life.

Call the hospital Administrator, that would seem to be your only recourse in this situation.

I understand your anger, but you were in pain and may have perceived the situation differently...

 

[goodgrlnteruptd]

just a update and a bit of infor

Oregon....
Honestly I don't think anyone that replied to my earlier posts are any better than the medical professionals I was complaining about....

What I would like to know is what happen to people caring about people and working for a healthier human race? Every single one of you that replied automatically assumed I was searching for drugs, Narcotics to be exact! Nobody seemed to see anything past the pills and NOBODY seemed to really care about a persons right to be treated with some dignity when going to a hospital for care!

Here's a bit of an up date people! No I didn't sue because I didn't want to chance that I would end up feeling as humiliated as I did that night. I have a saying that so far has held up to be true, it goes like this, "If you beat someone one up they will eventually heal, but if you humiliate them, they'll disappear!" Well ya my headache finally went away for a while but now because of all the professional caring people who blew me off I have a couple of lumps on my head that aren't exactly smart bumps! And I can't help feeling a bit angry and wonder if maybe those medical PROFESSIONALS HAD BEEN DOING THEIR JOB, THEN MAYBE THEY WOULD HAVE SEEN THESE BEFORE IT WAS TOO LATE!!!

So, no I did not seek drugs or narcotics I WAS SEEKING HELP AND MEDICAL ATTENTION AND TO BE HONEST IF IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NARCOTICS THAT WOULD HAVE WORKED THEN YES i WOULD HAVE SEEKED THEM BUT I ALSO WOULD HAVE SEEKED SEWER WATER IF THAT WOULD HAVE HELPED ME THROUGH THAT PAIN! What has this world really become? All I wanted was a doctor who could help me understand what was going on with my head instead I got a bunch of quacks who only push people down to get ahead....

 

[Some Random Guy]

And so, after a more than a month of inactivity, the original poster comes back to berate the board. Bluster and frothing, but no additional facts that would help us andwer any legal question that they might have.

I stand by my original reply to your original post. You received mecessary medical attention. Many of your problems were of your own making, and you have to be a real pain in the a** to get thrown out of the ER. You have no case.

As for your comment, "Every single one of you that replied automatically assumed I was searching for drugs, Narcotics to be exact!" - Well if you actually read my post you will see that I did not accuse you of searching for narcotics. I merely quoted words from your original post while giving free advice as to whether a HIPAA violation had occurred.

 

[goodgrlnteruptd]

last post

Believe it or not, I wasn't being a pain, being unrulely, or even being anything of the sort, I was only being treated wrongly. That is it I did nothing to deserve the behavior I recieved and I did nothing to not deserve fair and respectful treatment I did not recieve. As rare as it may be this hospital visit was a nightmare for me and it shouldn't have been that way, but it was. When you have a headache such as I did that night, there is no way to be unruley, out of line, or even mouthy, that night I couldn't hardly walk on my own when I got there and even if I had been any of the things that were assumed, it doesn't give any nurse the right to slap a person on the back and tell her if she doesn't answer the question then she'll have to leave. I am just glad I wasn't brought in unconscious other wise who knows where I would have ended up that night with that nurse.

I just can't help but feel if the hospital would have been a little more attentive toward me as a patient then maybe they would have acknowleged or seen early signs of the lumps I now have on my head. They were not there then but they are where my headaches were most tense. So Ya I am a bit angry maybe just want to blame someone but it was there job to help and they didn't do anything but hurt.

Thanks for all the advice, I hope you all have better treatment if you ever go to the ER than I did and better out comes also.

 

[panzertanker]

Believe it or not, I wasn't being a pain, being unrulely, or even being anything of the sort, I was only being treated wrongly. That is it I did nothing to deserve the behavior I recieved and I did nothing to not deserve fair and respectful treatment I did not recieve. As rare as it may be this hospital visit was a nightmare for me and it shouldn't have been that way, but it was. When you have a headache such as I did that night, there is no way to be unruley, out of line, or even mouthy, that night I couldn't hardly walk on my own when I got there and even if I had been any of the things that were assumed, it doesn't give any nurse the right to slap a person on the back and tell her if she doesn't answer the question then she'll have to leave. I am just glad I wasn't brought in unconscious other wise who knows where I would have ended up that night with that nurse.

I just can't help but feel if the hospital would have been a little more attentive toward me as a patient then maybe they would have acknowleged or seen early signs of the lumps I now have on my head. They were not there then but they are where my headaches were most tense. So Ya I am a bit angry maybe just want to blame someone but it was there job to help and they didn't do anything but hurt.

Thanks for all the advice, I hope you all have better treatment if you ever go to the ER than I did and better out comes also.

Seems kinda funny how you postulate that you were "being treated wrongly", yet your behavior got you thrown out of the ED....

Come to think of it, I remember throwing people out of my ED all the time for being polite and respectful....it helps foster business.

Cry somewhere else. I was as polite to you as I could be, and legally correct in my statement, the first time I answered.