If someone is hurt while in a hospital due to their negligence and dies as a result, can a malpractice suit be brought?
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If someone is hurt while in a hospital due to their negligence and dies as a result, can a malpractice suit be brought?
My mother was admitted to CCU with blood clots in her lungs after passing out at home. She was put on cumadin in the CCU. No side rails or alert pad was put under her; she got up in the night and passed out striking her head. She was found on the floor. They notified us of the fall and stitched up the gash. At 5 am the next morning she was unresponsive with a hematoma on the brain. She was shuttled back and from from one hospital to another. She died at home with hospice 3 weeks later. The hospital said they could do nothing more and we wouldn’t let them do surgery. She was 86 and surgeons said chances weren’t good.
Asked on June 29, 2011 under Malpractice Law, New York
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
I am so sorry for your loss. May I suggest that you seek consultation from an attorney that specializes in medical malpractice in your area. I think that you think that your Mother was the person responsible for her own death here. But I think that the hospital may have been negligent in not taking the proper precautions to make sure that she did not get up out of the bed. Should she have called for assistance? Maybe. But still there is a level of care here that I think was lacking based upon what you have written. The consultation should be free. Be aware that med mal cases are some of the most difficult to prosecute. Good luck to you.
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