QUESTION
If a Hospital lost a blood sample that delayed open Heart Surgery by 10 days, is this grounds for a medical Malpractice against the Hospital
Asked on Jul 17th, 2012 on Medical Malpractice - Ohio
More details to this question:
My wife went in to the Hospital because she was having chest pains. She already has a Heart condition and he Heart Dr. did a stress test and heart cath and found that she had 3 blockages. One was almost 100% and the other 2 where 85 to90% block. She was put in CCU. She was told back in 2002 after and cath that she was alleric to "Heparin". Blood work was order to check and see if she was. She was confined to her bed and after repeatey asking about this blood test for 7 days, finally found out that it had been lost and was sent to lab for test on the 7th day. Confronted nurse''s, floor supervisor and case worker and they all gave me no answer, just kept saying that it would several days to get this test back. On day 8, her surgeon found out that this had happened and he came from the OR to talk to me and explained what had happened and said that the Hospital had drop the ball on checking where this blood work was at and that my should have had her surgery 5 days sooner.
1 ANSWER
I am sorry to hear about this. What you would need to prove is that the delay resulted in additional damages to your wife. It would have to be something like the delay caused the heart to have additional blockages which were not able to be repaired or made repairing more difficult or something like that. It would probably have to be something more than just her waiting, pain, suffering, anxiety, etc. over those 5-10 days. If the delay did cause additional damages then you might have a case. It may be worth the while to get her medical records from the time she was admitted to the time she was released and contact a local attorney who handles medical malpractice cases in your area. I will tell you that these cases are very difficult and the fault must be clear (which it seems it is here) and the damages essentially catastrophic (which is where you may have an issue). This is because most state laws make it very difficult to sue or take action against a hospital, doctor or other health-care provider. Please also note that you are probably limited to a two year statute of limitations from the date of the harm to bring a suit against the responsible party. Most consultations with attorneys are free so request the medical records and start calling around. You should be able to find someone who will review the records and give you more detailed information. Best of luck!
NOTE: This response is general in nature and should not be considered legal advice. No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this response.
Answered on Jul 17th, 2012 at 10:03 AM