my brother checked into a a hospital for depression and suicidal thoughts. he was there for almost 3 weeks and the doctors started to ignore him. in these hospitals they do rounds on patients every 15-30 minutes to make sure they are safe. well my brother killed himself around 2am and they found him at 4:30am, which means they were not doing their rounds or they would have found him earlier. people have told me that since he was in the hospitals care that it is medical malpractice.
2007-11-27 08:27:32 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
I'm very sorry about your brother, please accept my condolences.
I don't think that it would be malpractice, unless you could prove that his suicide was forseeable and preventable by the hospital and its staff.
There are a lot of "ifs" in med-mal cases, and sometimes one thing can tip it to benefit one side or the other. You should look in your local yellow pages or call your local bar association for the name of an attorney who does medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuits, and ask them to review the case to see if it would be worth it to sue the hospital. They have qualified staff that can evaluate the case file and tell you if it's really possible, because it also depends on the state and area you are in, what type of hospital (public or private) it is, and many other factors. Good luck.
2007-11-27 09:11:47 · answer #1 · answered by Hillary 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
His parents, spouse and/or children have the right to sue. I can sue you for asking this question. Does not mean I will win. If you feel you can prove the doctors violated a standard of care then you should see a lawyer. You won't get anywhere asking questions about your very specific case here.
2007-11-27 16:32:17 · answer #2 · answered by davidmi711 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Sorry for the loss of your brother.
But come on, at what point was your brother so committed to killing himself that it didn't matter where he was at, or whose care he was under?
Doctors, psychiatrists, and hospitals can't solve everyone's problems. Those kind of problems need to be solved by the individual with the help and aid of their family.
Your brother's feelings of worthlessness that caused him to committ suicide was not the hospital's fault.
2007-11-27 16:35:11 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
If you can prove that the hospital's incompetence directly led to his suicide, then perhaps. But it's a long shot.
2007-11-27 16:32:51 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋