So, who pays?

[minniecarousel]

When my Mom was in the hospital, she was injured while being put back into bed. She had been sitting in a chair (placed there by the Physical Therapist). Since it was almost lunchtime, she was able to sit up in the chair to eat. As a CNA & an RN were placing her back into bed, one of them bumped her right lower leg and it split open. She was retaining a lot of fluid in her legs (edema) and a lot of fluid came gushing out. They bandaged it up. Her doctor saw the cut the next day and called in a surgeon. The surgeon declared that since her skin was so thin, that they would place a "wound-vac" on the cut to keep draining off fluid. (it's a very deep cut).

So my question is: when she sees the surgeon again for a recheck, should she have to pay the co-pay? Or should the hospital pay it?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Your mom pays the copay. This is not a case of negligence and the surgeon has nothing to do with the injury.

Does she have a social worker there assigned to her? Maybe you can ask and see if they will cover the copay, however I can't see that happening.

 

[mamajoan]

Hey Min, Your mom's insurance will pay for it. They were not negligent in their care. Yes, her leg was bumped during transfer. That happens quite often. You can talk to the hospital about it tho... see how they want to do it. I am sorry that your mom is not doing well. The wound vac will help a great deal.

big hugs!