I was wonder if i may have a medical malpractice suit

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I was wonder if i may have a medical malpractice suit

My wife is in the hospital with respiratory problems and pulmonary edema she was taken to have a scan done on Monday for a possible blood clot while having to lay flat while the scan was being done her oxygen saturation dropped and she went into cardiac arrest she was successfully resuscitated and spent 2 days on a ventilator I feel that if she had been properly monitored that this would not have happened

Asked on April 14, 2016 under Malpractice Law, Indiana

Answers:

S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 8 years ago | Contributor

Medical malpractice is negligence.  Negligence is the failure to exercise due care (that degree of care that a medical practitioner in the community would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm)
To determine whether or not there are grounds for malpractice, have your wife's medical records reviewed by another doctor.  That doctor's opinion as expressed in a medical report will determine whether or not you have a malpractice claim.

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 8 years ago | Contributor

First, malpractice is when the medical care provider does something negligent, or unreasonably careless; it has to be that the level of care was less than or worse than what a reasonble provider would provide. It's not enough that something bad happened, since bad things can happen to patients when the doctor does everything right; rather the doctor or clinic or etc. must have been at fault.
So that is the first question: did the provider do something wrong? You say that you "feel" that this would not have happened if she was properly monitored, but your feelings are irrelevant. Is there any medical reason to believe that monitoring her more or differently would have prevented this? Has n doctor told you that, for example? If monitoring would have made no difference, then there is no malpractice.
Even if monitoring might have helped, you can't judge by hindsight; rather, you have to consider what the provider knew or should have known at the time. If a reasonable provider would have done more or less what this care provider did, based on your wife's symptoms, her reports of how she felt, etc.--that is, if they provided pretty much the standard or appropriate level of monitoring given what they knew--then there is no malpractice, even if in hindsight, more monitoring might have been appropriate. Has any doctor, etc. voiced an opinion that the level of monitoring or care was deficient?
Third, even if there was malpractice, you can only collect compensation equivalent to the injury, the lasting effects, and the costs caused by the alleged malpractice. Malpractice  cases are expensive--you need to hire at least one, maybe more, medical experts (e.g. doctors), and they don't work cheap, to do tests, right reports, and testify; and you almost certainly need an attorney (this is not a case for a layperson). Unless you have incurred a few tens of thousands of dollars or more in additional out pocket costs, and/or your wife has suffered some lasting disability or significant life impairment, it is unlikely that you could win enough money to make the case worthwhile.


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