question about malpractice?

[lovingabby]

What is the name of your state? MI

I will try to make this short. Sunday I was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, they thought I might have had a seizure, turned out I only fainted. They wanted to do a lumbar puncture, I asked why, because I had just had one 2 months ago. I finally signed a release, cause they said they wanted to make sure I didn't have meningitis. They tried 7 times to get it, finally they put something into my IV cause I was jerking, and they told me I had to lay still otherwise I would be paralized. Well, when she put the shot into my IV, I felt really funny and asked her what she gave me. She told me morphine. I am HIGHLY allergic to morphine, and it was listed on my charts, and also an arm band I was wearing. I about freaked, and so did my mother, and I told her I was allergic to it, and didnt' she read???? She said she was sorry. My mother went up one side of her and down the other, and she said, I told her I was sorry. They asked what morphine does to me, and I told them it gives me hives and also makes my tongue swell.

Well they ended up keeping me in the hospital for observation, and I am wondering if it wasn't because of the morphine. I don't remember much of the hospital stay, was in there for 2 days, and slept for most of it. Is there anything I can do? Is this malpractice? I don't believe in sueing, but I think they need to be taught a lesson too.

Can anyone help me? I am not sure exactly what to do.

Thanks for listening and reading this, and if you can give me some advice that would be great. I have never had anything like this happen before.

Thanks,
Kelly

 

[hexeliebe]

If you have the fact that you are allergic to Morphine on your charts and medical records, then I would definately suggest you speak with an attorney.

An apology in this case will not do. It is encumbant upon all medical personnel to know what a patient's history is before administering any narcotic.

Was this a nurse or a doctor?

 

[JackSchroder]

I agree with the comments by hexeliebe. However, don't expect much more than to see your lawsuit filed. Do ask a lawyer to file the lawsuit, or if none will (most likely because he sees no money in it) ask that you be allowed to file In Pro Per. That means you file as a citizen. That puts this event on the record and if another lawyer somewhere sometime has a lawsuit against that hospital he can talk to you and get some ammunition for his lawsuit. Never be afraid to file a lawsuit. You do not have to do anything more, and you do not have to "serve" the defendants. Chances are until another lawsuit is filed no one will know you filed yours.

 

[lovingabby]

Thank you so much for the information, I should tell you, that it is noted in my charts and also had an arm band on saying allergic to morphine. The nurse is the one that put it in my IV, but wouldn't the doctor have to order it?

I am not sure how to file a Pro Per, but I just want to make sure this doesn't happen to someone else. Do you know what the long term effects are on morphine if any?

I have lots of medical problems, and keeping me in the hospital for 2 days, cause I fainted, I think is a bit long, and I think they did this cause of the morphine they gave me. I slept for more then 24 hours because of it. I know they gave me all kinds of other drugs to coincide with the morphine, so I didn't get hives to my knowledge. I just think they should be accountable for there actions. This could have killed me, or a different person.

Thank you again for the advice.
Kelly

 

[hexeliebe]

If you have not had any affects from the morphine by now then it's a safe bet you won't. I am not a doctor but I play one on T.V....just kidding.

Back in 1973 I had a small bout with Morphine after being shot by little guys in black pajamas and I can tell you in the three weeks it took me to get over the 'need' for the painkiller, it was hell.

You are right to assume that a doctor must order Morphine since it is a Schecule One (sp?) narcotic.

As for doing this pro se, I would not do this. Contact a few attorney's to see if they will speak with you and how much an initial consultation will cost. In most cases like this the initial consultation is free.

As for not believing in suing, I applaud you for this. However, unless you sue them, or at least file a formal complaint with the state regulatory agency that oversees hospitals in your state, this hospital will continue making such dangerous mistakes unchecked.

And next time the patient may not wake up. Would you want to read about a mother of three, a father of two or someone's daughter or son having this happen to them because no one held the hospital accountable?

 

[ellencee]

lovingabby
Before you go to an attorney, you need to find out why you were kept for observation for two days.

Morphine has a very short 'life' and was completely gone in a couple of hours. If you had a reaction to the Morphine, it happened very soon after you received the Morphine 'IV'. You state that you did not get hives, so you probably did not experience any allergic symptoms.

Your medical history is significant in this situation. You stated that you had a lumbar puncture two months before this admission and that you had a lumbar puncture in the ER before you were admitted. Lumbar punctures are not done routinely to rule out why someone fainted at home. There has to be something in your recent medical history that indicated the need for not one, but two, lumbar punctures.

Perhaps you were admitted simply for observation of whatever diagnosis is suspected and indicated the lumbar punctures.

If you were given Morphine inspite of all of the necessary documentations and 'flags', then a medication error occurred. If the physician ordered it while knowing you were allergic, then he erred; however, the nurse had the responsibility to check your records and your allergy bands for noted allergies. Thus, it would be the nurse who committed the medication error.

If this occurred, then I imagine you were given some IV steroids, like Prednisone, to prevent an allergic reaction or reduce the reaction to a non-threatening level. (You haven't stated what actually happened, just what you 'think' happened although you state you have no memory of what happened.)

Without more information (from your medical records), I can't infer that you slept for 24 hours because of the medication error or the medication given to prevent allergic reactions. Steriods usually make the person 'high', not sleepy. If you were given something like Benadryl, then I can see how you would have been sleepy. It remains, though, that something is going on with your physical health that has nothing to do with the medication error.

Before you see an attorney, you need to prepare yourself by gathering facts, ie--what happened, what was the admission for, and what, if any, reaction to the Morphine did you have.

If you were admitted solely because of the Morphine's being given in error, you should be able to have the costs of this admission dismissed by the hospital; anything up to that event would not be considered to have been caused by the error.

If you were admitted for observation of whatever is causing you to faint and indicating the need for lumbar punctures, then the admission is not related to the Morphine medication error.

The costs of any treatment that was provided solely because of the medication error should be borne by the hospital.

Medmal suits are expensive and a required element is 'significant damages'. This means the damages to you must be of such signifcance as to warrant the expense of a medmal lawsuit.

Although you may have received Morphine in error, the damages may not be sufficient to proceed with a medmal suit. You may be able to get an attorney to correspond with the hospital on your behalf and have the hospital bear the costs of any treatment for the medication error. Two days hospital stay may be sufficient enough for an attorney to be willing to seek some amount of an award to you; it just depends on how much money is at issue (and, it must be directly related to the medication error).

You are safe and should not have any further problem from the Morphine administation.

Find an attorney in your area that is experienced in medmal and take advantage of a free consultation; but, go prepared and not with 'I think this happened'.

Best wishes,
EC

 

[lovingabby]

Thank you so much for the advice, both of you.

First off, how do I obtain my medical records? I use to go to a doctor, and she will not realease my medical records to me, but said she will send them to my doctor I am seeing now. Why is this?

I have never tried to obtain any medical records, but would love to get ahold of the ones for the hospital admission, and also my old doctor records. Can you tell me how to go about this, and when they ask why I need them, what do I say?

Thanks again for all the input! As you can tell, I do not know the law at all. LOL

Kelly

 

[JackSchroder]

An In Pro Per lawsuit is one you file yourself. You should go to an attorney, but as I said earlier he will tell you he does not want your case. Then ask him to help you file In Pro Per. He probably will help you FREE. Most attorneys do this asa public service when they know you were mistreated, but the case isn't worth any money.
You get your medical records because they are yours. Ask the attorney you talk to if he will send for your records if you pay the cost of copying them. He will probably agree to do this. You should be able to get your records at any time merely by writin g to your doctor and asking for them. Many doctors don't know this and will balk, and that is why I suggest asking a lawyer to do it for you. Doctors often do not know the law, but it is useless for you to try to fight this.
I think the issue in your case is that the hospital failed to provide you safe care: whether it was because the nurse failed to read the wrist band about morphine, or because no one paid any attention to your pleas is secondary. In these cases the question is not that you are allergic to morphine (or anything else) but that the hospital did not follow its own instructions. Hospitals have manuals of procedure, and they set out their rules in these. A hospital that does not follow its own rules is prima facie negligent.

 

[summerbreeze65]

Medical records

Yes, they do have to give you your medical records if you put it in writing. They should have those forms at your doctor's office. They can make you pay for them, however, the cost should not exceed no more than $25. Just go in the office, simply ask for your medical records. They also have up to 3 days to produce the records. Not sure about your state and all. BUT YOU CAN obtain any and all medical records. DO NOT take no for an answer!!
~Summer~
Also, make sure you tell them, in writing, you want all and anything they have documented on you.
One more thing, go to the hospital and get your records from there also. They have to give them to you!!!!!!!!!!!!! And they know this. Pisses them off to know this. Tell them it is for your own records. Tell them it is for HIPPA reasons. I myself would say, and have done this, I want them. They belong to me too.
Good luck!

 

[ellencee]

lovingabby
The most cost effective way to obtain the necessary information is to request a copy of your admission and discharge forms and an itemized billing statement. You can probably go to the hospital and request these three items and leave with them in your possession for free or for a nominal charge.

Please remember that although the hospital and the nurse may have been negligent (and it appears the nurse was), negligence alone does not create a viable medmal claim. There must be associated, significant damages.

"I use to go to a doctor, and she will not realease my medical records to me, but said she will send them to my doctor I am seeing now. Why is this?"

You may request a copy of your medical records; the actual records are property of the physician. The information in them is yours; thus a copy of the records is what you need to request.

Many physicians do not simply hand over copies of medical records to their patients. Most people do not understand medical records, medical terminology, lab values or other tests' results, or have the ability to correlate physical findings with physical complaints. It leads to much confusion and disruption of physician-client relationships. You should discuss the contents of your medical records with your physician if you have concerns. Then, the physician can answer your questions about any entries that you do not understand. You can do this with your current physician or with the 'new' physician that receives a copy of your medical records.

Medical records are not written for the client; they are written for the physician and his or her staff. To a nonmedical person, the records may seem terse and aloof; whereas, to a medical person, it's 'the facts, ma'am; just the facts'.

Best wishes,
EC

 

[JackSchroder]

Ellensee:

You had better re-read the laws regarding medical records. You are wrong.

 

[pele]

HIPAA regulations state you have the right to:

"Request in writing access to our office to inspect and copy your Protected Health Information. "

We do copy charts for patients, however, there is a charge for this. To avoid this charge, many patients will request we send copies to their personal care physicians or specialist, this is done at no charge between doctor offices.

 

[ellencee]

Jack
I already posted documentation from a legal site that stated the courts ruled that the records are the property of the physician and that I found no contradictory information. Here's more documentation.

"The general rule is that medical records are the property of the physician, and that the patient may have access to their medical records upon request. Courts have held that while patients have the right to access their medical records, medical records become property belonging to the treating physician or hospital where the services were rendered." (AMNews, November 4, 2002)

If you are arguing the point of physical custody vs. absolute custody, it does not apply to this person's situation or to any situation that I recall as being posted on this forum.

(edit note: I can't find the documentation to show the example of absolute custody, so I've deleted the incident that I think I recall as being relevant.)

EC

 

[S.Wilsford]

Jack, I am almost certain Ellence is right. Rather than following actual laws, doctors have "ethics" which is basically the same thing, but not as set in stone as it would be if it were a law. Thank god! Since these days the law is so broad you can word it to fit whatever the situation as long as you can find a recorded case(which is mainly what "law" is anyways; cases) to twist into what you need! I found where it states, now this is either the Texas Medical Examiners Board or American Medical Association, that physicians have an ethical obligation to their patients to perform thorough examinations, obtain adequate and relevent patient history, perform any neccessary tests, then based on findings decide on their diagnosis and future treatment. They then have an obligation to discuss in detail their diagnosis and all treatment options including the advantages and disadvantages with the patient making sure the patient understands what is said and allowing them to ask questions if needed. It is best to get signed acknowledgements concerning release of liability from the patient and for sugery and some other procedures it is required. Basically what the patient finds out during their visit IS their medical record because of the fact most individuals are unable to read and comprehend information placed in a doctors written medical record. The information recorded by the doctor is our medical record, yes, but it is for the doctor to have to refer back to if needed for future care of the patient or for any legal issue which may arise later AND they are required to maintain some sort of medical record so that future doctors of the patient can request a copy in order to better understand a patients history(from a doctors view and terminology). Yes the patient has the right to receive a copy of records for their own personal records, but the doctor keeps original records for atleast 7 years and if it contains information about any change of anantomy he is required to keep it until he no longer practices medicine.

 

[summerbreeze65]

Stacy

Good info at the end of post.
~Summer~