CanIsue a hospital for discharging without treatment for a life threatening condition?

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CanIsue a hospital for discharging without treatment for a life threatening condition?

I went to a hospital with the symptoms of appendicitis. After doing a CT scan, the physician at the hospital diagnosed me with appendicitis. The physician decided to transfer me to another hospital, so that they could prepare me for surgery to remove my appendix. When I arrived at the second hospital, the physician acknowledged that my CT scan showed appendicitis, but said he didn’t believe that I had appendicitis. Instead of doing surgery, he kept me overnight to monitor my pain, and in the morning I was discharged because my symptoms hadn’t worsened. Later that day my symptoms got worse and I went to a third hospital. They confirmed that I had appendicitis and performed an immediate appendectomy. Can I sue the second hospital for discharging me without treatment?

Asked on November 1, 2010 under Malpractice Law, Ohio

Answers:

M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 13 years ago | Contributor

You need to seek legal consultation from a medical malpractice attorney in your area.  The consultation should be free.  The "good" thing here from the way you have written the question is that it appears that you may have no residual damages from being discharged from the second hospital.  In other words, their actions did not lead to some additional injury to you.  That is definitely thanks to you and your care of yourself. They were at the very least negligent in their care of your condition.  You will need to know what the standard of care is in this type of situation and if they violated that care.  Medical malpratice actions are difficult casess sometimes.  Good luck.   


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