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Is there a law that states if the wound is created in the hospital it has to be taken care of by the hospital?
This is a new injury, August 17 2008, and the tailbone wound occured in the hospital becasue of improper positioning.
My brother is about to be discharged from rehab and his wound is still not taken care of.
I don't know about the law, but if I were you I would certainly find out. Your insurance company would be a good place to start. I personally think the hospital should be held accountable but actually accomplishing that is another matter I am sure. When my Husband went to the hospital I had to go with him & teach the nursing staff how to care for him properly. Then he told me that as long as I was there with him, they actually took care of him but if I was not there, they just left him with no care. After that, I never left him alone in the hospital again. Let us know how you make out.
I would at least get a lawer that works on a success rate as this is only due to bad medical care.This is not new to any medical faculty that deals with people who cant move and i think its time to start putting pressure on them to stop PRESSURE Sores THAT CAN AND DOES KILL !!!
If what this is is considered something like malpractice, I know that here where I live the law says that you can sue for malpractice within 2 years that something happened if doctors and/or nurses were at fault. After the 2 year period, there's nothing you can do.
Your post is not very clear about the nature of the tailbone wound. Is this surgical malpractice or a pressure or "bedsore..." Is your brother paralyzed?
For the purpose of answering your question, I will assume he has a pressure sore from lying and/or sitting in one position too long while in the hospital. Skilled caretakers change a patients position regularly and inspect skin often so that any pressure sores can be avoided or limited when signs of skin damage or breakdown are first observed.
Your brother needs immediate care, probably from a wound care specialist, since the tailbone is an area where these sores can persist for YEARS, especially when muscle wastes after paralysis. There are some advances in treating these sores that would be only accessible through a specialist. Your doctor and/or hospital needs to take care of this for your brother as it is lack of standard care for him to be discharged in that condition without a very aggressive treatment plan and follow up care for as long as any sore is evident or threatening.
If you are not satisfied with the treatment you are able to obtain from the doctor and hospital where the sore was allowed to occur, your brother needs to find another Doctor as well as a good Medical Malpractice Attorney who will work on a Contingency basis.... the lawyer only gets paid if your brother is successful in his lawsuit. This attorney should know a good deal about medical and legal issues. If he or she does not seem competent in both areas, set up a meeting with someone else until you are completely satisfied. Often, the initial consultation is free.
It is likely that this condition might be expensive and long lasting for your brother. He deserves for this to be paid for by those who let it develop through lack of good standard care. He also deserves some compensation for his trouble and all that may be involved in resolving the issue, which might be very difficult, especially if he is in a wheelchair much.
Other sores can occur if your brother stays in bed a lot to try to let his current sore heal. He should have a special, cut out wheelchair seat cushion and probably an alternating airflow mattress topper on his bed or "rocker" to allow good blood flow while he is resting. All of these things should be covered expenses and repaid through the lawsuit, if it becomes necessary.
First and foremost is your brothers health, but do not wait even a year to file your lawsuit--- some states have shorter limits. Find out what yours are and if your brother does not get taken care of by the hospital where he was allowed to get the sore, please help him get the legal work done. This is one way we can get better care for others.
I was paralyzed during disc surgery fifteen years ago and told I just didn't tolerate surgery like everyone else. What my surgeon failed to tell me was he severely tore my Dura, which filled with blood, an irritant which causes terrible scarring inside the Spinal Cord. This and other major mistakes left me in constant, severe pain, for which I still take Morphine and several other medications daily. I had three young daughters at the time I had this "routine" surgery and was left in agony, "parenting" from a hospital bed in my living room. This was not the outcome I was expecting and there was so much wrong with his "work" that this doctor did not even contest the lawsuit.
The original amount of the settlement was supposed to be 1.2 Million, but was reduced severely by a judge, and it took over ten years to collect most of what I did finally receive (450K) though looking back, not nearly enough to compensate for the lives changed and the pain I live with daily. I am in bed almost all the time because standing or even sitting cause so much pain it becomes unbearable quickly.
The best thing that came of my lawsuit was this doctor lost his practice and all rights to ever use a hospital operating room again. Knowing he could not hurt anyone else was the best! During our preparation for the lawsuit, we found out he owed over 11Million to seven other patients, and had NO MALPRACTICE insurance, so he had to pay out of his own pocket for most of the settlement. The hospital also paid a small amount (35K) for allowing this guy to use their facility.
My suspicion is that the doctor had a drug and/or alcohol problem and was still under the influence early on the morning I had my surgery. I cannot explain how an experienced surgeon made so many gross errors (7) otherwise, including pounding directly on the spinal cord with the pneumatic hammer while trying to place a bone graft. When I woke from surgery, I felt as if I was in the mouth of a Great White Shark!!! I was told I would get used to this sensation--- RIGHT!!!
It's difficult to imagine the loss of income when one cannot work again and the cost of regular medical care and medications, plus all the new complications your brother might suffer. Your brother deserves any compensation he can collect from the hospital and doctors who allowed his problem to develop.
Good luck!!! ~Diana~
Thank you Diana for your wonderful reply. Yes it is a bed sore and yes he is paralyzed due to stroke in his spinal cord (T2 through T9) during his neck surgery on C1 and C2
His accident was August 17th and I have filed a complaint with JCAHO against the hospital
I have also contacted an attorney that has great reputation in medical malpractice and am waiting on their response
I will follow up as you advised.
I am so sorry for your misfortune! It is amazing as how lives change in a moment.
I wish you the best.
You are welcome!
I wonder if your brother was told of all the risks when he was going to have the neck surgery. Even the consent he must have signed before his surgery should not stop him from possibly winning his lawsuit if the sore, OR the stroke were due to malpractice. You need to have that attorney collect ALL the documentation from the hospital and your brother might want to think about what has happened and have someone write down everything he can remember about his experience while it's still relatively fresh in his mind. If he can recall names of doctors, nurses or therapists who treated him and whether any of those commented about his condition or the quality of his care (or lack thereof) he should note those as well.
Your brother will be asked to remember details of his care, dates, names, and more. I don't believe most healthy people are able to remember things that happened a year ago or more in great detail, and it is much more difficult when one has been traumatized and likely on large amounts of medication. Just help him do his best. "I do not recall" is one answer I had to give often in my case, and is to be expected, but the more he can remember, the better.
A lawsuit can be a very stressful process to endure, especially while trying to come to terms with his condition, but like I said, this may be important to others as well as to your brother. I wish you the best!
Diana
My brother doesn't remember much, I was there with him during most of his stay at ICU, and because I have been updating and e-mailing people and posting progress on the care pages I have a lot of information about certain events and dates.
I may not recall any names, but I do recall comments such as you noted about lack of proper care that I can repeat, even one incident when one nurse came and positioned him correctly, when my brother asked if he was turned too much on his side and he responded, you have to e off your tailbone. We didn't know better to insist on that until we got him to rehab.
I have contacted the lawyer today and added to my issues the wound issue and I'll see what they say.
I also have filed a complaint with JCAHO and been in contact with the Hospital. Hopefully we will get good results this way, but considering a lawsuit may be wise too, since his wound id causing delay in rehab for his legs, which causes other problems down the road.
Thanks
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