Woud it be considered as malpractice?

[PoetryMom]

What is the name of your state? NY

My brother has been hospitalized for 3 weeks now. He was admitted fo abdominal pains so they said it was gallstones so they removed his gallbladder. After the surgury he was still feeling the same pain as he had came in for....he was giving antibotics that cause him to have an allergic reaction to... he had hives, high fevers and went to convulsions that caused him to be in a near comma situation for 2 days....previously they were told that he was having an allergic reaction and it took them 3 days for them to realize that he was allergic to the antiboitics. once they stopped the antiboitics his kidneys began shutting down that they had to rush him to ICU. While he was in ICU I was questioning the nurses and doctors and for 2 days they kept telling me that they didnt know what was wrong with him. I asked for copies of his medical records (i'm his proxy) and was told that when he is released from the hospital can obtain them. When I asked to speak to the head doctor caring for my brother an Intern arrived and stated that the doctor was busy with another patient and that he could answer questions for me. When I asked what was going on he stated that the cause of his kidneys shutting down was due to the antiboitics so that they took him off and now his kidneys are repairing itself. The following day that I arrived at the hospital, I spoke with his attending nurse and she stated that they are running test on him due to the fact that he has syptoms of Pancreatitis....more test were giving and they stated that the reason for the abdominal pains is that he has Pancreattitis.

Personally I felt that we were giving the run around and misleading information? what do you think?

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

What is the name of your state? NY

My brother has been hospitalized for 3 weeks now. He was admitted fo abdominal pains so they said it was gallstones so they removed his gallbladder. After the surgury he was still feeling the same pain as he had came in for....he was giving antibotics that cause him to have an allergic reaction to... he had hives, high fevers and went to convulsions that caused him to be in a near comma situation for 2 days....previously they were told that he was having an allergic reaction and it took them 3 days for them to realize that he was allergic to the antiboitics. once they stopped the antiboitics his kidneys began shutting down that they had to rush him to ICU. While he was in ICU I was questioning the nurses and doctors and for 2 days they kept telling me that they didnt know what was wrong with him. I asked for copies of his medical records (i'm his proxy) and was told that when he is released from the hospital can obtain them. When I asked to speak to the head doctor caring for my brother an Intern arrived and stated that the doctor was busy with another patient and that he could answer questions for me. When I asked what was going on he stated that the cause of his kidneys shutting down was due to the antiboitics so that they took him off and now his kidneys are repairing itself. The following day that I arrived at the hospital, I spoke with his attending nurse and she stated that they are running test on him due to the fact that he has syptoms of Pancreatitis....more test were giving and they stated that the reason for the abdominal pains is that he has Pancreattitis.

Personally I felt that we were giving the run around and misleading information? what do you think?

My response:

"What do you think" isn't a legal question. This is a legal site, not a medical site. We can't "think" anything without seeing his complete medical charts, notes, etc., and then having those documents reviewed by another doctor.

IAAL

 

[PoetryMom]

My response:

"What do you think" isn't a legal question. This is a legal site, not a medical site. We can't "think" anything without seeing his complete medical charts, notes, etc., and then having those documents reviewed by another doctor.

IAAL

Well I apologize for the "What do you think" I dont know much about medical law or legal situations period. But thank you I will have his medical charts, etc reviewed by another doctor when i obtain them.

 

[ellencee]

Part of the legal aspect of this is whether or not the surgeon knew or should have known that the patient had pancreatitis before removing the gallbladder. Usually, the patient with pancreatitis is given antibiotics until the pancreatitis resolves. I believe two weeks is the anticipated course of medication.

If there was no indication of pancreatitis and no indication of the need for life-saving emergency removal of the gallbladder, then the patient's developing pancreatitis is related to a normal course of events. One of the leading causes of pancreatitis is gallbladder disease. Chances are, pancreatitis was in the early stages and presented post-op without any malpractice.

Unless the physician(s) knew or should have known that the patient was allergic to the antibiotic, more likely than not, there is no malpractice. I did infer that diagnosing an allergic reaction took longer than it should have. The records will state observations by the nurses and nursing diagnosis and/or the nurses' professional opinions of the cause(s) of the patient's signs and symptoms and will include documentation of notifying the physician of the patient's condition.

Hope that helps,
EC

 

[ellencee]

IAAL

This is a legal site, not a medical site.

Damn it, Jim. I'm a doctor, not a lawyer.

EC

 

[rmet4nzkx]

Here is a link to HIPAA to obtain medical records. http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/
Please understand that your brother's care may be perfectly acceptable and meet the standard of care even though you don't understand. Both Gallbladder and Pancreattitis are related, as Ellen stated, so it is not unusual to continue to have pain, it doesn't mean that the galbladder surgery was unnecessary, only the chart, upon review can tell you that. Your brother had a serious reaction to an antibiotic, just because there are complications, doesn't mean that there is malpracitce. You give no information about your brother's age or health, that will play a factor even if there is some deviation from the standard of care.

 

[PoetryMom]

Thank you for all the info

"Part of the legal aspect of this is whether or not the surgeon knew or should have known that the patient had pancreatitis before removing the gallbladder. Usually, the patient with pancreatitis is given antibiotics until the pancreatitis resolves. I believe two weeks is the anticipated course of medication."


they didnt diagnosed pancreatitis until 2 days ago, they removed his gallbadder way before they even diagnosed pancreatitis

my brother is 38 yrs old and the only medical condition he's had was gallstones, and asthma.

Thank you for the information on how to obtain his medical records