medical records fraud/please read

[jayboy]

What is the name of your state?tx

we requested my mothers medical records from the doctors office. we rqquested them because she died of a heart attack. when we received them, we noticed they had been tampered or altered. the doctor wrote in that my mom "refused a physical cardio work up". it is so obvious it was added.

my question is: what can we do about it. could this be a lawsuit and if so what kind. is it worth pursuing. could it be worth a lot of money.

i was told that if my mom refused an cardio work up and blood test that the doctor would make her sign a waver stating she refused. is this true.

the case could already be misdiagnosis. could tampering with the records change that. confused

please, can you give me some advice. jason

 

[rmet4nzkx]

Jason,
I'm sorry for your loss, but it is not unusual for a doctor to make or amend notes later. There is no requirement for a person to sign a document or informed consent when refusing a workup, if admitted to a hospital, and leaving against medical advice, perhaps. I think you are searching for something based on your previous posts. If you join a class action suit, the respord will be considered, but you cannot sue for an amendment in the records.

What is the name of your state?tx

my mother passed away from a heart attack while taking celebrex. i contacted several lawyers and now they won't stop calling. my question is this. what can a wrongful death case like this get from class action settlement. my family doesn't want to get caught up in this unless its worth it. does anyone know how much money we are talking about. lawyers take a chunk of course. i don't know if its worth it. cany anyone help me. thanks, jason.

What is the name of your state?tx

my mom passed away from a heart attack and was taking celebrex. i was wondering if it would be worth it to file a lawsuit against the drug company pfizer. my family and i don't think it would be worth it unless the settlement was 500k or above. i mean, to bring up my mothers death all over again is going to be hard. does anyone know what class action suits against major drug companies can pay settlement wise. how much are we looking at. thanks, jason.

 

[purple2]

rmetz is right. It is very commonplace to add things to medical records. It should be done properly, ie, noted as an addendum and dated. Altering records improperly just puts the provider at greater risk if he is sued and the record is brought into question in the suit. In itself, there's not anything you can do about the alterations, to my knowledge.

 

[reviewphysician]

You might have a case if you can prove that the records were tampered with. But proving that the records were doctored is going to be an uphill task. I have had situations were I offered some patients a certain diagnostic work up and they refused. I simply noted that in their chart and thought nothing of it. Case closed. Sometimes I give them a waiver to sign sometimes I don’t. Documenting it in the chart is sufficient. It’s wise to have the patient sign/initial somewhere in the chart so that relations won’t turn around and say the records were doctored.
I don’t know how you came to the conclusion that the records were tampered with when you didn’t see the initial record. For you to prove that the records were doctored you must prove that you saw the records when she was alive and it’s different from what you see now. Do you get my drift?
Dr Nwaizuzu ( www.reviewphysician.com)