Lawsuit or No Lawsuit?

Question

My father-in-law was killed from injuries resulting from a car accident in May. They had him packaged and immobilized when they got him to the hospital. They should have flown him from the scene because it was a rollover accident. I'm an EMT and I know that's what I would have done. Anyways...I was working in the Intensive Care Unit that day. I didn't find out he was in the ER until about 6 hours later. In the ER they said he was combative because of all the pain. They said he wouldn't let them near him with meds. I know he was just scared of getting morphine because it put him on a ventilator last time there. He supposedly "made" them take him off the backboard. They had him sign an AMA (Against Medical Advice). I've never heard of people signing that to get off of a backboard. They said they offered to sedate him, put him on a ventilator, and fly him out. They should have went ahead and sedated him and sent him out.

He had the back of his head stapled. Head injury? Couldn't they use implied consent since he was combative and went ahead and sedated him. They said he wouldn't let them. He had his neck fused a couple of years ago from an old Navy injury. The CT scan couldn't show if there was a neck fracture. We don't have an MRI at our hospital. He kept making us take his cervical collar off and sit him up because he was hurting so bad. We figured they had ruled out a neck fracture and we were just waiting on a lumbar xray report. FINALLY they give him some oxycontin and geodon, a very strong narcotic along with a strong sedative. They were going to send him home. He lives by himself with stairs. I told them to make some calls. They finally found a surgeon at our hospital that would admit him overnight for observation. That's the best I could get them to do. The nurse said they should have flown him out 7 hours ago.

I come in the next morning and the nurse tells me that my father-in-law "claims he's paralyzed." She said, "he's just being over dramatic that he can really move." I went in to see him. He couldn't move. He said that the nurse came in that morning and tried sitting him up. He hollered out in pain and she sit his breakfast on the table and said "here then feed yourself!" He never had a final meal. Of course I filed that complaint. The nurse no longer works there. They sent him to Erlanger in Chattanooga via ambulance. They did an MRI immediately and found a neck fracture with major spinal cord damage. A neurosurgeon did immediate surgery. 3 days later he ended up on a ventilator. A few hours after that they called the family. My husband had to make the decision to unplug him from the epinephrine drip. He could no long sustain his own heartbeat. He died 5 minutes later at age 51. This could have been prevented! My husband has had a hard time especially with the business.

When I came back to work after bereavement leave everybody involved, especially the doctor seemed really scared. When I went to have the doctor who admitted him for observation sign his transfer orders he told me, "he's just being an adolescent about this. He isn't paralyzed." That made me so mad. That doctor is no longer at our hospital either. He has a lot of other lawsuits against him. What should I do? I don't care about risking my job. My husband deserves to see the ones who killed his dad punished. We deserve some financial means of taking care of his dads debts and trying to keep his business running.

I DO plan on talking to a lawyer. I'm not stupid. I just wanted to get an idea what I may be looking at.

Stephen F: I have never seen Grey's Anatomy. I don't even watch TV. I am an EMT Intermediate and I DO work in the ICU as a tech and telemetry tech. I can do anything within my scope of practice. The scene was a 4 lane with good weather. I've seen many people fly out of that area. You don't think I know the facts?! How dare you be so rude! Next time just keep your mouth shut! To those being sympathetic, thanks. My husband is an Iraq veteran and was just getting to know his dad again. His parents divorced when he was 3.

Answer 1

it sounds like it is a very complex issue as such do the homework in your area and find the best possible personal injury med Mal lawyer in the area and see what they say

Answer 2

Remember, it's against the law for a non-lawyer to give out legal advice, so nobody should be trying to seriously answer this question. Additionally, it would be pretty foolish for a lawyer to answer this without more facts, especially since tort law can differ radically depending on your country (and that's assuming you're from a Common Law jurisdiction).

Start researching medical malpractice attorneys in your area. Find one who has a reputation for excellence and call them up. If your case has merit, they will tell you. If it doesn't, they have a duty to tell you that, too. To take legal advice from a public website like this would be a huge mistake.

Answer 3

If sounds to me that you learned more about medicine watching "Grey's Anatomy" than in an EMT class. I have Never heard of an EMT, which is NOT a medical school graduate, working in the ICU. You gave no indication it was POSSIBLE to fly out of the scene of the accident or that you had a clue what the scene was. Based on this data, I don't believe you know enough to ask this question accurately.

Answer 4

I'm very sorry for your loss but implied consent only works if the patient is unconscious, drunk, legally insane, or a child.There are a bunch of cases on that issue including a guy who cut his hand off because he thought it was possessed and told the hospital they could not reattach it. Then later he sued the hospital and the hospital won. That's just one case I remember vividly from my Torts 101 class. Other than that, you should seek real legal advice from a licensed attorney in your area that deals with medical malpractrice. Good look and again, I am very sorry.