My wife went to the hospital emergency for suffering sever stomach aches on Friday and was admitted to the hospital. Later that night she wa...

Question

My wife went to the hospital emergency for suffering sever stomach aches on Friday and was admitted to the hospital. Later that night she was released and sent home. It should be noted that my wife has an existing medical condition which caused an swelling of her spleen. Her condition is called polycythemia vera. By Monday, she was in so much stomach pain we had to call 911. Again she was admitted to the medical intensive care unit and it was determined that she had low white blood count. She was give blood transfusion. She also started having fevers. It was determined two days later that she contracted community pneumonia and had fluid in one of her lungs. After one week she was put on an induce sedation, an intubator and a rolling bed to help her breathe for two weeks. From the ICU she was transferred to the progressive care unit and then to the Rehab Center. She spent four weeks in rehab because she lost all her ability to move and had muscle atrophy and was confined to a wheel chair. All told she spent nine weeks in the hospital. She is home now but is still undergoing outpatient physical therapy. Does the hospital have any liability or responsibility for what happened to my wife? Can I sue this hospital?

Answer

Your action would be based upon a claim of failure to properly diagnose the problem upon first admission, and that the delay caused additional problems that wouldn't have otherwise occurred.

When claiming medical malpractice, your claim must be supported by the opinion of a doctor who is a 'qualified expert' in that field of medicine, who is prepared to testify in court that there was medical malpractice, meaning the treatment fell below the acceptable standard of care, and that such negligence caused legally recognized damage or death. Neither your opinion about malpractice, nor mine, is relevant nor 'proof' of malpractice. What may seem obvious to you and I is not necessarily a conclusion an expert will support.

Consult with your other treating doctor[s] to see if they are willing to provide that opinion and testimony, or you can contact independent experts for that purpose if your treating doctors say there is negligence but they won't testify. I can provide referrals to independent experts if necessary. If you obtain such an expert's opinion and testimony, and if you determine that you have a case with MERIT [provable case with a likelihood of winning], VALUE [substantial provable damages] and COLLECTABILITY [defendant with substantial assets or insurance], then you would have proper grounds to bring your legal claims in a lawsuit. Keep in mind that you have only one year maximum from 'notice' or learning of the suspected malpractice to bring suit.

If serious about pursuing this, feel free to contact me.