QUESTION
Can a person sue a hospital if your baby dies from internal bleeding and the doctors don’t know what happened?
Asked on Oct 21st, 2012 on Personal Injury - Florida
More details to this question:
The baby was born 27 weeks early, was kept in hospital because of prematurity, no known health problems, other than heart rate drops sometimes and Apnea but was told she would grow out of that. The night she died, dad called at 10:30pm everything was fine and we got a call around 1:30am that we need to come to the hospital. It was an emergency with the baby. When we arrived, she was dead. No one could tell us what happen. Only that she had blood in her lungs and they don’t know why. We are having an autopsy done as well.
12 ANSWERS
Employment Law Attorney serving Beverly Hills, CA
at
Dordick Law Corporation
Update Your Profile
First, I am very sorry for your loss. As for suing, the hospital staff must have done something below the standard of care. The autopsy may be telling if there was something administered that may have caused the bleeding/death. Once you obtain that report, speak with one or more attorneys that handle medical malpractice and wrongful death claims to ascertain your options and rights.
Answered on Oct 24th, 2012 at 3:34 PM
You can't sue a hospital or a doctor or any medical professional just for a bad result. Professional negligence has have a cause and that cause has to be a link to damages. It's called proximate cause. What was the cause of the condition that eventually caused the baby's death? You can be angry but against who and for what?
Answered on Oct 24th, 2012 at 2:03 PM
Ronald A. Steinberg
You need a birth trauma specialist. I think that you will not be successful because a preemie that young has too little chance of survival. Have the lawyer get the OB/GYN records to see if there was any error in the prenatal care.
Answered on Oct 24th, 2012 at 2:02 PM
Construction Litigation Attorney serving Mission Viejo, CA
at
Law Office of Christian F. Paul
Update Your Profile
First, let me say I am very sorry for your loss. It is the most difficult thing in the world to lose a child. Nothing will really make up for it. All you can do under the law is get some money to compensate, if you prevail. To answer your question: Yes, that is possible. It is called wrongful death caused by professional negligence that is, medical malpractice. Of course, you have to be able to prove that the hospital, doctors, nurses, or whoever did not perform their job competently, and that their negligence caused your baby to die. This will all depend on what the medical records and other evidence show, and what the experts and the people involved are able to say about what happened. You need to find a good attorney who specializes in medical malpractice cases as soon as possible, maybe even one with experience with infant death. Get all the records you can right now and keep them together, and write out a list of events in chronological order, with names and places wherever possible, while these things are still fresh in your memory.
Answered on Oct 24th, 2012 at 2:01 PM
Plaintiff Animal Bites Attorney serving Missoula, MT
at
Bulman Law Associates PLLC
Update Your Profile
You can't be serious. You must prove the doctors failed to save a 10 week preemie? That is very very difficult.
Answered on Oct 24th, 2012 at 8:26 AM
Criminal Defense Attorney serving Anderson, SC
at
The David F. Stoddard Law Firm
Update Your Profile
There is not enough information to tell. A bad outcome from a medical procedure or from medical care in of itself is not grounds for a lawsuit. You need a medical opinion from a doctor that the death was caused by negligence of a doctor or nurse who provided medical care to the baby. My advice would be to wait on autopsy results and see if that gives you an explanation of what happened. If that does not satisfy you, find a lawyer who handles medical malpractice cases. The lawyer will need to have all of the medical records and autopsy results reviewed by a doctor to determine if there was medical negligence.
Answered on Oct 24th, 2012 at 8:02 AM
Appellate Attorney serving Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
at
Musilli Brennan Associates, PLLC
Update Your Profile
From what little information you provided your chance of recovery appears slim. You must first find a doctor who is willing to testify the hospital violated its duty of care.
Answered on Oct 24th, 2012 at 8:00 AM
Personal Injury Attorney serving Charlotte, NC
at
Paul Whitfield and Associates P.A.
Update Your Profile
Your facts may be misstated. No fetus could survive "27 weeks early" the fetus is not properly formed that early. The medical records may have your answer. Don't worry about what "they" say, whoever "they" are. see what the record says and have your own doctor review the re cord and properly inform you.
Answered on Oct 24th, 2012 at 7:53 AM
You should consult with a plaintiff's medical malpractice lawyer for specific legal advice.
Answered on Oct 24th, 2012 at 7:49 AM
Car Accidents Attorney serving Warwick, RI
Partner at
Jules J. D'Alessandro Law, Inc.
My condolences on your loss. You can sue the hospital if the hospital did or failed to do something that resulted in your baby's death. Medical malpractice cases are different than other claims because the existence of a bad result or consequence does not automatically mean that something was done wrong. You have taken the right first step by demanding the autopsy to determine the cause of death. You also need to hire a medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. If the results of the autopsy show potential negligence on the part of the hospital, they may not be very forthcoming with that admission.
Answered on Oct 24th, 2012 at 7:39 AM
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorney serving Syracuse, NY
at
Andrew T. Velonis, P.C.
Update Your Profile
Pehaps the autopsy will enable everyone to figure out what happened. Only then can anyone begin to assess whether it could have been prevented, and then one can approach the question as to whether any standards or protocols were violated.
Answered on Oct 24th, 2012 at 7:39 AM
Automobile Negligence Attorney serving Orlando, FL
at
Kelaher Law Offices, P.A.
Update Your Profile
The chances of winning that are slim. In order to prevail in a med mal case, you've got to prove that if the doctor met the standard of care, "more likely than not" your baby would have survived. I can only speculate on the survival rate for an infant born 27 weeks before the EDC, but I'll bet it's very slim and probably less than 50/50. If your baby stood less than a 50% survival chance anyway, no attorney would take that case, and would have to put many, many tens of thousands of dollars into obtaining all the expert opinions to pursue the case.
Answered on Oct 24th, 2012 at 7:38 AM