What can I do about the incompetent medical staff at this hospital?
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What can I do about the incompetent medical staff at this hospital?
My wife was discovered to be pregnant and had a UTI about 22 weeks
ago. She was prescribed pills for the UTI and she took the
medication.
Later when she was checked again, she still had the UTI. They
prescribed the same medicine and everything repeated again. When
they noticed she still had the UTI they prescribed the same thing
and again it didn’t work. Now it has spread to her kidneys and she
has to stay overnight taking more antibiotics intravenously. I’m no
doctor, but I know if a bacterial infection is resistant to one
antibiotic then you need to use something else. Really if should be
as simple as, this doesn’t work, so lets try something else. Just
feels like common sense to me.
Is this acceptable? Can I do anything about this? My wife and the
baby are at risk because of this.
Asked on January 12, 2017 under Malpractice Law, New Jersey
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 (that degree of care that a reasonable hospital would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm).
Prior to filing a lawsuit for negligence against the hospital, it may be possible to settle the case with the hospital's malpractice insurance carrier.
When your wife completes her medical treatment and is released from the hospital or is declared to be permanent and stationary which means having reached a point in her medical treatment where no further improvement is anticipated, she should obtain her medical bills, medical reports and documentation of wage loss. Her claim filed with the hospital's malpractice insurance carrier should include those items.
Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. The medical reports will document the nature and extent of her illness 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 hospital's malpractice insurance carrier, NO lawsuit is filed.
If your wife is dissatisfied with settlement offers from the malpractice insurance carrier, she should reject the settlement offers and file a lawsuit for negligence against the hospital.
If the case is NOT settled, your wife must file her lawsuit against the hospital prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or she will lose her rights forever in the matter.
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