Kept screaming and crying. I touched on his ears and he screamed so I thought he had an ear infection. He wouldn't eat or stop crying so I took him to the ER. They said he just had a virus and gave him tylenol. I didn't believe that so I took him to his doctor's the next day. They said he just had a virus but gave him antibiotics because of the high fever(103.7 and 104). Friday morning his ear swole. I took him to Johns Hopkins and they immediately said it was an ear infection and the fluid had went into his ear and drained into his bones. It could have gotten into his brain and caused damage. Everyone keeps saying I need to complain or try to sue because the other hospital and doctor should have seen the ear infection. Not to mention kids can go into seizures from that. But I thought since nothing bad really did happen then I can not sue? Am I right?
2006-12-27 12:58:54 · 29 answers · asked by oohLa 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
Sorry it's so long
2006-12-27 12:59:17 · update #1
Oh yeah he was in the hospital for three days because they were debating about surgery. It's not that I really want to sue. But I just wanted to know if it was the best thing
2006-12-27 13:22:36 · update #2
Your best bet would be to look in your local yellow pages for an attorney who specializes in medical malpractice and give him a call. Most attorneys will answer a question or two at no charge. At the very least, he'll listen to your story and tell you whether he thinks a lawsuit would be in your best interest.
At the very least, I would contact the AMA and file written complaints against your child's pediatrician and the emergency room doctor.
2006-12-28 06:30:29 · answer #1 · answered by brevejunkie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, they are doctors, not God. You probably could sue, and they'd settle just to shut you up (no offense meant, that's just how they look at it). However, it's kind of iffy anyway.
Start with a complaint, if you like, but to be honest, it's a fairly common mistake. In four days a lot could change, and there is no way the first doctor would have seen the difference between a regular ear infection and something that would move into the ear bones. I'd be ticked for someone giving you antibiotics for a virus, that's crap and how those antibiotic resistant bacteria are created. You could have set your son up for MSR.
Just be thankful that you are an observant mother and kept an eye on it. My friends' sister never did, and they had to remove about four square inches of her babies skull. It grew back, but like you said, it *could* have gotten into the brain. She's the kind of mom who never even took her kids in for an ear infection, so that's a big difference.
2006-12-27 13:09:39 · answer #2 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is suing really going to solve anything/ I think a well written letter to the head of the Hospital, Pediatrics would be a better way to go. Law Suits can be long and messy. Not the quick buck. I know from our own personal experience with ear infections they come on quickly. It is possible that when your child was seen by the first 2 pediatricians he didn't have an ear infection. I know that I took my healthy happy 9 month old in for a regular check-up and 4 hours later she had a ruptured eardrum. They come on that quickly. Take the knowledge that your instincts are best. And remember next time to not give up. Just because they are doctors, you know your baby best. if you think something is wrong trust yourself!
2006-12-27 13:06:02 · answer #3 · answered by Amy R 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Personally if it were my son, I would be so happy he was ok I wouldn't care. I would just make sure to change pediatricians though. But if you are really mad about it you may want to go talk to the Dr and let him know that it wasn't a virus, it was a severe ear infection that had gotten really bad because of his ill advise. And apparently your son was given antibiotics for no reason so that could have made it worse. But I wouldn't mess too much with the er. ERs are crazy and it's pretty common for them to misdiagnose something unless it's critical. Since that was the first place you took him it probably hadn't gotten bad enough for them to tell without a thorough examination. But the Dr should have been more careful. Do what you want, but I would be finding a new peds dr ASAP!
2006-12-27 13:05:04 · answer #4 · answered by #1 Buckeye Fan!!!! 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This makes no sense to me. I have 5 children. 2 of them have had chronic ear infections and nothing this extreme has ever happened! And my youngest daughter has actually awaken with a pool of blood in her ear and on her pillow. I have been told that an ear infection, even though extremely painful, will eventually heal itself. Also, a child's ear can hurt for a number of days before an ear infection is even evident. Doctors are not God. They can only do what they can do. They are not perfect and can only see as far as what their instruments allow them to see. You should just be thanking God that your child's condition has been caught and is being treated properly and let the human doctors be what they are, humans who from time to time won't know all the answers and may make some mistakes.
2006-12-27 13:11:20 · answer #5 · answered by †♥mslamom♥† 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You don't have a case for suing. The doctors treated him appropriately, he just took a nasty turn for the worse. It happens.
Most ear infections are caused by viruses. For years, doctors would prescribe antibiotics for all ear infections, even though antibiotics don't have any effect on viruses, and as a result, we now have a huge problem with drug-resistant killer bacteria. It is possible that your son had a virus that set up a secondary bacterial infection that was resistant and didn't respond to the first antibiotic the doctor tried.
All turned out well and no one is to be blamed.
2006-12-27 13:10:56 · answer #6 · answered by SLWrites 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This world really has gotten sue happy. Doctors miss things all the time, you don't hear about everyone who has been misdiagnosed being sued. Like everyone else, doctors DO make mistakes. Unfortunately, I think the majority of those who do, work in emergency rooms!
Any infection going on in the head anywhere can lead to the brain...I would be curious to find out HOW he got that infection though...and NO, I wouldn't sue. I don't think you would win.
2006-12-27 13:02:15 · answer #7 · answered by RetroDiva65 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I have taken my son to the ER twice and they had done a lot of tests on him and sent me home with an antibiotic, I would call his doctor both times mind you b/c he continued to have the same sx.and when I took him in they told me he had an ear infection. I stop taking him to the ER unless it was absolutely necessary. I have worked in ER before and I have came to the conclusion that b/c the doctors in the ER do not see the same things everyday they do not recognize immediately what a pediatrician would.
2006-12-27 13:06:08 · answer #8 · answered by *sexy mocha* 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Anyone can sue for anything. You would only win if there were permanant damage or loss of life. You can however, file a complaint with the AMA and the state board of physicians. I would make sure I filed a complaint. I have seen so many people, old and young, dismissed from the doctors with a wrong diagnosis. Sometimes it is so obvious that they are wrong. You were right to seek more than one opinion. You saved your child.
2006-12-27 13:03:55 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure whether or not that would be grounds for a lawsuit, but it sounds close. I would say:
1. hang onto EVERY piece of paperwork you filled out at the ER, plus anything from your doctor.
2. ask a lawyer for an assessment, don't forget you don't necessarily have to use the same lawyer for the lawsuit, also.
3. I hope everything turns out OK with your baby, and you don't need to sue. That's the most important thing, right?
2006-12-27 13:02:34 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋