Medical Malpractice for dummies

Tymon

Tymon

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Tymon
Disclaimer: No, I'm not suing anyone.

So, time for me to vent. Not too often I post here on my own issues but this one just has me very angry.

First things first, my grandfather just died about 30 minutes ago, as I'm typing this, they're taking his body out of the house right now. Sad, yeah yeah, I'm not exactly bawwwing about it because I knew it was coming in the first place.

Now then, on to my vent. He had advanced melanoma, a form of skin cancer. He battled this cancer for over two years, and was actually beginning to improve against all odds, his tumours were shrinking in his stomach and his brain, and his physical stamina was rapidly improving.

See, this man was my idol for a long time. Vietnam veteran, as he was diagnosed and even for some time after he was an avid swimmer and benched almost 100 lbs more than I do right now. Basically an iron man, and at 74 years of age, very amazing to say the least.

So, at first, it was really a blow to me to see such a pillar of strength to me and my family be reduced to a bed for a while, so you can understand how much of a relief it was to see his strength and such come back.

Here's where the real bullshit starts. He has an allergic reaction to some medicine he was taking, some of the chemotherapy agents or something like that, so he goes into the hospital to get treated.

Over the course of 2 days or so, he was taking some antacids that were supposed to be taken with food and some other pill, but the nurses there didn't give him any food, or the other pill to be taken with it.

Apparently, due to this, it eroded his esophagus, his stomach, and perforated his liver, causing it to shut down. We didn't know about this until after he came back home, and he was almost immediately stricken with jaundice and all the such you would expect from that.

2 days later, he's dead. And I'm pissed. Not because he died, as I had accepted that from some time ago even though he was recovering, I was actually expecting to be proven wrong, but apparently due to the fact that the medical staff around here are total idiots, my hopes are not going to be made real.

I really don't know what else to say right now, other than I wish I could sue these people for every cent they're worth, unfortunately that is not in my hands and my family has no interest in suing them, other than me and my uncle wanting to.

I'm just wondering what everyone's thoughts on this kind of bullshit is, and if it's happened to anyone you know.
 
Oh my god...thats awful. Although, I wouldn't call it medical malpractice as nurse-related negligence. Still though, that's absolute bullshit. From the way it sounds, if they had given him the food to take his meds he might've continued to recover. I'm deeply sorry you've suffered such a loss from such idiotic negligence.
 
My sentiments as well, dying due to someone's ignorance is inexcusable; I think that would be called malpractice how the nurses provided him with the medicine was more or less the same way another person could hand you something to use, ie without instruction or supervision.
 
I am sorry to hear about your loss. I lost my grandmother and she was a pillar of strength as well and her cancer seemed like it would be manageable. Then she took a turn for the worse within a week and then she died. It is difficult seeing someone that was always so strong end up so frail.

As for the negligence on the nurses' behalf, it does sound like they didn't know about the medicine that they were giving him. I know down in SC we're a little short on nurses and most of the ones in certain hospitals don't know what they are doing. I'm not sure what one can do about a situation like that other than a family member asking the doctor about the medicine before it is given to the patient. I hope that someone happens so the nurses think about what they are doing.
 
This is medical malpractice. If you wanted to sue, you probably wouldn't have a hard time finding a lawyer to take the case.
 
Tymon said:
Disclaimer: No, I'm not suing anyone.

So, time for me to vent. Not too often I post here on my own issues but this one just has me very angry.

First things first, my grandfather just died about 30 minutes ago, as I'm typing this, they're taking his body out of the house right now. Sad, yeah yeah, I'm not exactly bawwwing about it because I knew it was coming in the first place.

Now then, on to my vent. He had advanced melanoma, a form of skin cancer. He battled this cancer for over two years, and was actually beginning to improve against all odds, his tumours were shrinking in his stomach and his brain, and his physical stamina was rapidly improving.

See, this man was my idol for a long time. Vietnam veteran, as he was diagnosed and even for some time after he was an avid swimmer and benched almost 100 lbs more than I do right now. Basically an iron man, and at 74 years of age, very amazing to say the least.

So, at first, it was really a blow to me to see such a pillar of strength to me and my family be reduced to a bed for a while, so you can understand how much of a relief it was to see his strength and such come back.

Here's where the real bullshit starts. He has an allergic reaction to some medicine he was taking, some of the chemotherapy agents or something like that, so he goes into the hospital to get treated.

Over the course of 2 days or so, he was taking some antacids that were supposed to be taken with food and some other pill, but the nurses there didn't give him any food, or the other pill to be taken with it.

Apparently, due to this, it eroded his esophagus, his stomach, and perforated his liver, causing it to shut down. We didn't know about this until after he came back home, and he was almost immediately stricken with jaundice and all the such you would expect from that.

2 days later, he's dead. And I'm pissed. Not because he died, as I had accepted that from some time ago even though he was recovering, I was actually expecting to be proven wrong, but apparently due to the fact that the medical staff around here are total idiots, my hopes are not going to be made real.

I really don't know what else to say right now, other than I wish I could sue these people for every cent they're worth, unfortunately that is not in my hands and my family has no interest in suing them, other than me and my uncle wanting to.

I'm just wondering what everyone's thoughts on this kind of bullshit is, and if it's happened to anyone you know.
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I've had similar experiences. My Grandad had a stroke and subsequently died, however a few days before he died he was choking on some phlegm like sticky fluid whilst we were visiting. My Mum went to get a nurse to help, guess what she was told by the nurse. "I'm on my break now, sorry". A stroke victim is lying there choking and that's what she has to say.

Happily, things like that with our grandfathers don't happen very often and 9/10 doctors and nurses etc do a really good job. Someone needs to be held accountable though.
 
Sharpe said:
I've had similar experiences. My Grandad had a stroke and subsequently died, however a few days before he died he was choking on some phlegm like sticky fluid whilst we were visiting. My Mum went to get a nurse to help, guess what she was told by the nurse. "I'm on my break now, sorry". A stroke victim is lying there choking and that's what she has to say.

Happily, things like that with our grandfathers don't happen very often and 9/10 doctors and nurses etc do a really good job. Someone needs to be held accountable though.
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That's just absolutely ridiculous. The idiocy of this country is astounding.
 
Yeah, I've experienced my fair share of medical malpractice. For example, my grandma went around with cancer on her spine in the neck for about 2 years. She went to the hospital with it several time, they just said it was an aging thing and refused to check it out. 2 years later it had spread to her brain, liver etc. and it was too late to fix once it was discovered.

My sister had been to the hospital 3 times with borelia (is that the English word for it?), each time among at least 2 different doctors, and every time they refused to check it out. One time she had it for over a year because they refused to check it out.

I have many more examples, though.

I agree with you Tymon, doctors suck. They only become doctors because they want to make a lot of money, not because they want to help people. They could care less what happens to their patients, as long as they get their paycheck.
 
My grandpa died because the nurse didnt replace his IV solution.

Yeah, shits fucked up nowadays.
 
Uzor said:
My sister had been to the hospital 3 times with borelia (is that the English word for it?), each time among at least 2 different doctors, and every time they refused to check it out. One time she had it for over a year because they refused to check it out.
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People here in the states call it Lyme Disease.
 
I can understand not filing a suit. A lot of people would prefer to just leave it alone. The pain of a loved one passing can be immense, and there are people that would prefer to not dwell on it. A lawsuit is a drawn out process, and it could prevent the emotional wounds from healing for a long time.

However, those involved do need to be held accountable for their actions. At the very least, a formal complaint should be filed with the hospital. It is critical that healthcare professionals are aware of the impact of their actions. If they aren't aware of ththat impact, it is totally possible the things that happened to your grandfather could happen to someone else. If the staff members responsible are going to continue with that particular line of work, changes need to be made; someone who can help facilitate those changes needs to be informed about the situation.

Though money isn't the important part of this, I hope you aren't paying the hospital bills or physician bills that your grandfather incurred during his stay; they won't proactively waive those bills.

My thoughts are with you and your family. I'm so sorry this happened.
 
Uzor: "I agree with you Tymon, doctors suck. They only become doctors because they want to make a lot of money, not because they want to help people. They could care less what happens to their patients, as long as they get their paycheck."

Really? My friends who graduated medical school last year (I'll do the same in a year, I'm not talking out of my ass) are having trouble paying their loans back. Look at these numbers: a gynecologist in Illinois makes about 240 thousand a year, give or take 10 grand. That means you earn 20 grand a month. Of course, you pay 40 percent of that to taxes in that tax bracket, so now you're down to 12. Then you pay another 40 percent to malpractice insurance, so now you're down to 4 grand a month. It may sound like a business to go into for the money, but if you consider you work about 75 hours a week (7 days, at least ten hours every day), you're really not making that much an hour.

Sorry for the rant but I HATE people saying all doctors are greedy and in it for the money. If you really think that, why not just diagnose yourself and your relatives for free using the internet? The information is all out there, it really can be done if you put some work into it. Yet you still keep coming back to us, for everything from hangnails to hernias. Seriously, if you really think we're all heartless bastards, why would you go back?

I'm sorry so many of you have relatives who have had bad experiences with the medical system. In a perfect world we'd have an infinite amount of time and money, and we could give every elderly woman with back pain a free MRI for example. In a perfect world, there would be one or two patients per doctor and the doctors would take exquisite care and have plenty of attention for their only patient. Unfortunately, we don't live in that world. In the world we DO live in, doctors have to justify literally every cent of spending they do to insurance companies, and they trust nurses to follow their instructions.
 
delphin said:
Uzor: "I agree with you Tymon, doctors suck. They only become doctors because they want to make a lot of money, not because they want to help people. They could care less what happens to their patients, as long as they get their paycheck."

Really? My friends who graduated medical school last year (I'll do the same in a year, I'm not talking out of my ass) are having trouble paying their loans back. Look at these numbers: a gynecologist in Illinois makes about 240 thousand a year, give or take 10 grand. That means you earn 20 grand a month. Of course, you pay 40 percent of that to taxes in that tax bracket, so now you're down to 12. Then you pay another 40 percent to malpractice insurance, so now you're down to 4 grand a month. It may sound like a business to go into for the money, but if you consider you work about 75 hours a week (7 days, at least ten hours every day), you're really not making that much an hour.

Sorry for the rant but I HATE people saying all doctors are greedy and in it for the money. If you really think that, why not just diagnose yourself and your relatives for free using the internet? The information is all out there, it really can be done if you put some work into it. Yet you still keep coming back to us, for everything from hangnails to hernias. Seriously, if you really think we're all heartless bastards, why would you go back?

I'm sorry so many of you have relatives who have had bad experiences with the medical system. In a perfect world we'd have an infinite amount of time and money, and we could give every elderly woman with back pain a free MRI for example. In a perfect world, there would be one or two patients per doctor and the doctors would take exquisite care and have plenty of attention for their only patient. Unfortunately, we don't live in that world. In the world we DO live in, doctors have to justify literally every cent of spending they do to insurance companies, and they trust nurses to follow their instructions.
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:/ The specialists that my dad sees work 10-2 for 4 days a week. But then again I guess it depends on what type of doctor. My dad sees wound-care specialists.

They did mess up big time when my dad went for surgery on the major blood vessel in the leg. He was getting stents put in because he has poor blood circulation in his legs, and getting blood clots. So his doctors also forgot to tell the staff at the hospital that he was on blood thinners. He almost went in for surgery on a large artery and his blood wouldn't clot! I mean, hello! They were supposed to ease him off of the blood thinners. O.o So he ended up staying in the hospital a week or two longer than he should have. He also ended up losing a toe as well, so he had to go back again for an amputation.

I'm sorry for the OP and others who've lost family to malpractice though. At least I still have my dad ; ;
 
delphin said:
Seriously, if you really think we're all heartless bastards, why would you go back?
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Because the internet can't write me a scrip for Carbamazepine.

I have to take that medicine for the rest of my life, yet my doctor refuses to give me a scrip for more than 3 months at a time. That makes me go to the doctor 3 times a year when I really can't afford to go once a year.

Yes, I know, bloodwork is important when taking medicine like that. I understand you have to make sure it isn't killing my liver and all that. But the alternative is not taking the medicine, and chance having a siezure when I am driving down the road, or when I'm 30 feet in the air on a Cherry picker pulling stock out of a rack. So yes, I have to pay a doctor $900 a year to allow me to buy my medicine (for an additional charge) that I will need to take for the rest of my life.

This is a bit off topic. Sorry Tymon.
 
NINE HUNDRED?? Yeesh my copay is $25/$40. You not have medical insurance?
 
delphin said:
Really? My friends who graduated medical school last year (I'll do the same in a year, I'm not talking out of my ass) are having trouble paying their loans back. Look at these numbers: a gynecologist in Illinois makes about 240 thousand a year, give or take 10 grand. ....
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Well, that's because you and your friends may not be interested in the money, but you want the only other thing all men strive for.... pussy!

Sorry, I couldn't resist a bad gynecology joke...... :p
 
Like I told you over aim, sue the hospital.
 
exodusamphi said:
NINE HUNDRED?? Yeesh my copay is $25/$40. You not have medical insurance?
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no I don't. For blood work and visit, it's about $300. 3 times a year.

I used to have insurance with a state sponsered program, Tenncare. They told me epilepsy wasn't a life threatening condition and I wasn't eligible for the program.
 
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