Would we have a case?
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Would we have a case?
My fiance woke up on Oct. 29th 2016 with a small knot on the back of his head. It was very painful for him so I took him to the hospital the following day.They didn’t do any kind of tests because he doesn’t have any insurance. They diagnosed him with tension headaches. We then went to a different hospital the next week and they ran a cat scan and diagnosed him with muscle spasms. We returned to the same hospital the next week because it was getting worse and worse and the medicine they gave him was not helping. They still said it was muscle spasms. The next week we returned the first hospital and they ran blood work and found an infection in his lymph nodes in his neck. They gave him one dose of IV antibiotics and sent him home with a script of antibiotics. It still didn’t get any better. So then we got him to see a regular doctor and they sent him straight back to the hospital and he now has MRSA and it is bad. Would we have a case to sue?
Asked on November 24, 2016 under Malpractice Law, Missouri
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Medical malpractice is negligence. Negligence on the part of the hospital is the failure to exercise due care, which is that degree of care that a reasonable hospital would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm.
The misdiagnosis caused a delay in appropriate treatment and a worsening of the MRSA.
Prior to filing a lawsuit for negligence against the hospitals, it may be possible for your fiance to settle the case with their insurance carriers.
When he completes his medical treatment and is released by the doctor or is declared by the doctor to be permanent and stationary which means having reached a point in his medical treatment where no further improvement is anticipated, he should obtain his medical bills, medical reports, and documentation of wage loss. His claim filed with the insurance carriers for the hospitals should include those items.
Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. The medical reports will document the medical condition, and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering which is an amount in addition to the medical bills. Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.
If the case is settled with the insurance carriers for both hospitals, NO lawsuit is filed.
If your fiance is dissatisfied with the settlement offers, he should reject them and file a lawsuit for negligence. If the case settled with one but not both hospitals, only name the hospital with whom the case did not settle as a defendant in the lawsuit.
If the case is NOT settled, the lawsuit must be filed prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or your fiance will lose his rights forever in the matter.
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