Need legal advice please.

[Minnie824]

Ok, this may end up to be a long post, but here's the story. My dad had prostate cancer over the summer. They operated, got it all, said he's doing well. The night of his operation - right after surgery this idiot nurse didn't change his IV bag for 2 hours it was empty. Then she did change it but she screwed up and all the liquid went in at once. This caused his blood pressure to drop to 48/40!

Fast forward to the past month. He's been having vision problems and went for an MRI. They noticed a tumor behind eyes, but said that wasn't causing the visions problems. The eye doctor specialist said the eye problems were from a mini-stroke, caused by a drop in blood pressure.

Now....people sue for anything nowadays, but do you think they'd have a valid case to sue the doctor or hospital for the screw up over the summer? They have to have records on what his blood pressure dropped to, and the new doctor, will verify that a drop in blood pressure caused his eye problems, but won't say for sure its caused by what happened. Obviously taking care of him is more important, but it makes me so mad that their screw up could have caused him permanent eye damage (btw, theres no fix for his eye problems).

So, if anyone has any opinions or advice, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

My best advice it to talk to a professional for advice. You can get free consultations on med mal matters with an attorney.

 

[Lewski709]

Miss Jasmine and I agree on this one. Talk to someone.....SOON!

 

[Rajah]

I agree, this one is worth an official consultation.

 

[Disney Doll]

I'm one of the "idiot nurses" you refer to in your post,and while I have never heard of a one-time drop in BP causing blindeness(if that were the case, there'd be an awful lot of blind people around!), if it will make you feel better to sue, then go ahead. Chances are, the hospital will settle and you'll get some money, since they'd rather do that than have the "poor blind guy" paraded around in court.

I'd put my money on the tumor being more the cause of a vision problem, but what does an "idiot nurse" know???

BTW, a person who needs "legal advice" generally consults a lawyer, not a Disney website.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Disney Doll, I just wanted to let you know, that what I said had nothing to do with whether I thought the nurse was at fault (which I highly doubt), but more because like you said, why do people come to the DIS looking for legal advice. Consultations are free, take advantage of it.

I have much respect for nurses!

 

[Beauty]

Okay I honestly see both sides of this story. No not all nurses are idiots but one completly ruined my grandmother's hearing. Never would I call every single nurse an idiot but this women should not be working in a situation with older patients. We didn't sue although we could have I'm sure. Today my grandmother has total and complete hearing loss in her right ear because of one nurse, who yes I would call an idiot because she never should have tried doing something if she wasn't completly sure how to do it.

Now on the other hand there are nurses out there who have been wonderful. My Dr.'s personal nurse has to be the most caring and wonderful person I know. Sometimes I would rather ask her opinion on something than my actual Dr's.

I think there are idiots out there in any field who shouldn't be doing the job they do and yes I agree that there are times when sueing is the answer, especially if outstanding Dr. bills are caused by a mistake the person made.

Anyway for what its worth that is my take on both sides.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Originally posted by Minnie824
The night of his operation - right after surgery this idiot nurse didn't change his IV bag for 2 hours it was empty. Then she did change it but she screwed up and all the liquid went in at once. This caused his blood pressure to drop to 48/40!
Thanks.

You know what...I think if your dad had a problem post-op then you should do something about it. You may prevent someone else from receiving the same treatment. Who knows what is going on at this hospital? Maybe it was a fluke and maybe it wasn't. I would check it out.
I know PLENTY of nurses and they all say the same thing. I would never leave my loved one alone.
Hospitals are so understaffed. It is really a crisis situation all over.

 

[r2boys&buzz]

HI!

I am so sorry about your father. I was a nurse and then an ER Director before just being 'Mom'. Anyway, my two little points -- There are bad, good and wonderful nurses. The problem with the medical field is that when you do something wrong (unintentially) as a doctor or nurse you cannot just cover it up. In many other occupations you can correct your wrong with no harm to the customer (patient). The bad ones really stand out and often cause a stigma on the entire nursing population.

Second, there is malpractice coverage for a reason. I know in todays environment it is well abused and misused because hospitals will do anything to avoid bad press (not to mention gold diggers). However, your case sounds like it has a real reason to be heard by a good attorney. You are looking out for the best interest of your father and it can be investigated through a good attorney.

(I saw nothing wrong with posting here as this board is a cross section of American citizens who will give you candid opinions and advise -- usually due to personal experience, especially when you are exploring which way to go on an issue.)

Good luck and good health to you and your father.

 

[BedKnobbery2]

Minnie, you need to speak with an attorney in your state ASAP, as there may be a statute of limitations limiting the timeframe in which you can recover damages for a medical malpractice suit. MissJasmine is right, an initial consultation will be totally free.

If you've ever used an attorney before, and were happy with her or his services, call that person up and ask them for a referal for a good medical malpractice attorney--or ask a trusted friend or relative if they know of one. Don't rely on the yellow pages.

And Disney Doll, although certainly I can understand your personal feelings about this, I think its important to note that Minnie did not lump all nurses into the idiot category, but rather the specific nurse with whom this happened.

 

[Robinrs]

Disney Doll,

There is no need to be defensive, this woman make a mistake, not the entire profession.

I personally have utter respect for the nursing profession. They do things I would NEVER do and are incredible human beings. But they are "human beings" and if this was done to your loved one I'm sure you'd have a choice word for that person, too.

People come here for advice because there are so many people who've been through it before. I am sometimes amazed at the experiences found here. Of course we realize it's all opinions but sometimes it helps to get some friendly advice.

God bless the nurses of this world, they are amazing!

Robinrs

 

[Disney Doll]

You're right, but you know what, that "idiot nurse" is probably overworked, understaffed, and running her butt off.

The problem is, the public doesn't understand the role of a nurse, doesn't understand the amount of times a nurse saves the patient from an incompetent doctor, doesn't understand that we basically get paid $50,000 maybe to be incharge of your life and death. For that $50,000 maybe(and that's in a good year with a fair amount of overtime) we have to put up with obnoxious doctors, obnoxious family members, obnoxious patients, incompetent support staff, administrators who tell us it's our job to mop a floor if the patient becomes ill or has an accident, because "housekeeping is everyone's responsibiltiy"...last time I checked, the housekeepers weren't inserting catheters, changing dressings, performing CPR or doing anything that constitutes MY job, so why do I have to do THEIR job??? And don't forget "oh, the lab person couldn't draw any blood, so you'll have to get that" and "oh, we don't have a Pharmacy tech, so you'll have to run to the Pharamcy to pick up the pain medication that your patient is screaming for NOW" and "oh, dietary forgot that patient's tray, can you run down 4 floors to the kitchen and get it?" and "my mother would like a cup of coffee and while you're at it can you get me one too?" and I could go on and on.

Chances are, the nurse wasn't an idiot, she was a nurse doing her best to keep her finger in the dam, and it was flooding anyway. Unfortunately, our less-than-ideal work situation sometimes causes us to miss something and then we get the privelege of being called an idiot, in addition to being sued, in addition to feeling really guilty if something we did or didn't do actually caused harm to someone. Believe it or not, most of us "idiots" are in this thankless job to help people.

Thanks for the kind words, robinrs.

Sorry to go on and on. Ultimately, MInnie824, I hope your Dad is OK.

 

[SeaSpray]

Except for the very last 5 days of her life when we brought her back home to die, my mother spent the last month of her life in a hospital. (Just to clarify: My father took care of my mother 24/7 at HOME for the last 6 years. She was only hospitalized the last month of her life except for the final 5 days). Anyway, there were NO "idiot nurses" working there at all. We thanked the nurses continuously. I was amazed at the level of concern and care they showed to my mother, who was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, each and every day she was in the hospital.

Even when we brought my mother home to die, some of the nurses called at my parents' home to see how she was doing. I was extremely impressed with the nurses at that hospital.

I guess this really doesn't have anything to do with this topic, except that it reminded me of the dedicated, cheerful, caring, gentle nurses who took such good care of my mother during such a traumatic time in all of our lives.

THANK YOU to all of the good nurses out there. While I do believe there are inept people in EVERY field, I am fortunate to always have had excellent nurses whenever in a hospital setting, for myself or a family member.

 

[Robinrs]

No, thank YOU, Disney Doll!

I can't imagine the responsiblity nurses carry. They are earth's angels.

Minnie, forgive me for highjacking your thread. I went through so much the last two years of my parents' life I can totally understand. I hope you seek the advice you need and I hope your Dad gets 100% better! Appreciate and cherish every second with him.

God bless,

Robinrs

 

[Krisu]

I agree you need some good legal advice. BTW I've been a nurse for a long time and can relate to everything Disney Doll has mentioned. It's no wonder there is a severe nursing shortage. I do hope you find out what happened.

 

[Annie68]

Minnie,
I have been an RN in the ICU setting for the past 14 years. Never have I seen a rapid infusion of IV fluids cause a drop in blood pressure, it actually has the opposite effect. When we have a patient with a low pressure, the first thing the Dr. will consider is a "fluid bolus", which means opening up the IV & letting a set amount infuse as quickly as possible. I would tend to believe that the low pressure was caused more by the lack of IV fluids post-operatively (along with the anesthesia & pain medications in the pt.'s system), for the "2 hour" period you said the IV was dry.

I agree with your complaint that the nurse should have noticed a dry IV long before you claim she did, but was the bag really dry for that length of time? Sometimes minutes can seem like hours to a patient. Was a family member at the bedside? In our hospital, almost 90% of the IV's are on pumps, which alarm when the bag is almost empty.

DisneyDoll said exactly what I was thinking in regards to the "idiot nurse" comment, I won't even go there. Nursing is such a rewarding field, but it can be incredibly stressfull/overwhelming. IV's go dry on the best of us, although 99% catch it immediately.

 

[Minnie824]

I apologize for starting a debate about the nursing profession. That was not my intent.
Regarding the empty bag...my father got out of surgery and was in his room around 7:30pm...my mother and I were there. He had been in recovery for awhile. Around 8:30pm, we noticed it was empty. We asked the nurse to change it. She said she'd be right back. There were multiple other nurses coming in to take care of other things, but they weren't the people to take care of the IV. My mother and I left at 10:30pm since he was still sortof out of it and the bag was NOT changed yet and the nurse had not been back. So yes, someone was there to verify that it was empty for 2 hrs. The reason I said it was from the IV rushing in too fast, was the next morning when we were there, the new nurse filled us in on what had happened and thats what we were told. This person the 1st night made a mistake and could have killed my father. Do I think she's an idiot? Yes, and I probably could have used worse words to describe her. Not in any way did I imply that every nurse was an idiot. Every other nurse he had in his whole hospital stay, was efficient, friendly, helpful, etc. Maybe this one nurse was overworked, and tired, etc. But I'm sorry if I can't say, well, she was overworked, so its ok she could have caused life long damage to my father. Maybe some of you can. I think some people are getting a little defensive regarding a post requesting help. I guess I should find other places to ask for advice from now on.

 

[CarolA]

Umm... Legal advice comes from Lawyers. If you think you need one, contact one. Acting upset because you don't like the responses is not good. Based on your response what you want us all to say is YES. WE ARE NOT LAWYERS, IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT WE SAY!

I see these kind of posts often. I am a CPA and would not give accounting advice on boards like this so I don't think you are going to get good legal advice. While I realize everyone is trying to be helpful, you are not really getting legal advice just theorys and stories. (I don't want to offend anyone, but...)

I work in healthcare. People sue us all the time. It gives lawyers something to do. (And you wonder why your heathcare costs are so high! This is a MAJOR reason. Doctors spend more on malpractice then anything else and the cost of malpractice insurance and settlements is passed on to YOU!!) When my stepmother died three attorneys called my dad wanting him to sue, we have no idea why? People die sometimes, it happens and nothing the hosptial or doctors could have done would have stopped it.

 

[Lewski709]

I don't think the OP meant ANY disrespect to nurses in general.

She was asking whether to contact an attorney and I think these boards are a place for advice, understanding, empathy, sympanty and unfortuantely, a lot of ridicule. Posting here was not wrong!

The OP is irritated by what happened and if you were in the position, you probably would be too. (you not directed at anyone specific)

There are a lot of jobs where we are finding employee shortages. It doesn't make it right, I think there are a lot of people overworked in today's society. We all have our plates full. It still doesn't make it right and if this isn't brought to someone's attention, it isn't fair. It isn't fair to the OP's dad, the nurse who is overworked, the others who are receiving less than adequate treatment due to understaffing and I can go on.

 

[momof2inPA]

I say speak to a lawyer. Something must have happened that night to alert the nurses that your father's fluids were not changed. Maybe his blood pressure was even lower than that before infusing the fluids. Get a lawyer to at least subpeona the charts and have a look.

My mother was in chemo for cancer and received nearly ten times the dose of a chemo drug she was receiving. The doctor's writing was messy and the nurse did not check the dosage. She was never able to eat again. No, we did not sue. She was dying anyway, but I am sure that mistake hastened her death. Just thought I would add that to show that mistakes do happen-- often terrible mistakes.

No nurse attacks, please. My sister is a lovely, wonderful former nurse, current nurse practitioner.