Would you ever sue for malpractice?

[MarySunshine]

I don't want to give details about my case, because I'm not sure if that would be wise given that it is a current lawsuit. Suffice to say that I was in the hospital, at the doctors office, and in touch with my doctors' office multiple times throughout a week leading up to the 6month loss of twins. Whenever I was in the hospital I was rehydrated and sent home, told I had food poisoning, etc... Well, it turns out I had a very easiliy diagnosed, commonly known cause of premature labor. Right under their noses. On more than one occasion.

I am not a vengeful person, and I understand that people make mistakes. I'm about to graduate from nursing school and I'm terrified of making a mistake and hurting someone. However, I do feel that my case was VERY negligently handled (I was 18 y.o. on government medical insurance, if that might be a reason). So, I sought out a lawyer just to ask him about it.

A lawsuit seemed like my way to participate in the justice system. To make sure that something like that didn't happen again. I could think of NO other way to make a difference. In fact, if I was shown that I was mistaken and that, I had in fact, received good medical care then I would happily accept it and move on. I would like closure and what is right and good to be done through this.

Looks like they're going to settle the case (3 1/2 years after I met with the lawyer). I have VERY mixed feelings. Even though these suits are part of the justice system, it seems like its a broken system. Am I only contributing the problems plagueing the system? If I let them settle without bringing it to court will the REAL CASE pass unnoticed by the medical community within that system?

What would you do? I loved my kids. I'm not interesting in making a buck off of their deaths, thankyouvery much. What is right? What makes a real difference?

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

I can only say based on my experience as an office Ob/gyn nurse in the past that we never treated a medicaid patient differently. When someone calls with issues the only reason I would care about the insurance is if I needed to get an auth. or something to get them the care they need. The other staff/providers acted in the same way.

If they did something grossly negligent I think it should be exposed, and maybe a lawsuit is the best way to do that, and be sure it doesn't happen again. If what they did was due to a very unusual circumstance or minor human error which can happen to anyone then it needs to be learned from and you could require them to do education etc...

Perhaps you can use some of the settlement to help ill or under privileged children? That would certainly do some good.

I think 97% of the providers and staff I have worked with in the past would be absolutely devestated if they thought they had caused or not prevented this loss through inappropriate action or inaction.

I must say I am very, very sorry for your loss. I am also extremely sorry that you have to deal with all of this in addition to your loss. I feel strongly that you will do the "right thing", and whatever that is, only you can decide.

Whatever the outcome, you have absolutely no reason to feel guilty for whatever actions you now take. You were never the one that did anything wrong.

[NP2BE]

yes, I would sue for medcial malpractice, If it was warranted. By that I mean , was it the the docs fault or not. And I don't care if it was an honest mistake or not, they are supposed to be experts, they live in the top 1% of society, and they have a lot of power. They need to be accountable wether they were grossly negligent or made an innocent mistake. You can bet that that you will be sued too in the reverse. Alternatively, sometimes people die, and it is not the docs fault, they should not be sued for that. They should not be sued for trying new techiniques when all else has failed (like cancer patients). That upsets me. I do think there should be a limit however, and I would rather not, as people have said, sue anyone, just get comptent medical services. Money can't replace loved ones, or loss of function.

[askater11]

I want to make a comment about the statement--

No other way to make a difference.

I only want to say--in general the public, nurses, hospital staff should not stop at sueing hospitals/dr. and etc. We must make a stand to make a difference.

In the 10 years of nursing I've seen so many things that need changing in the medical field. We need to talk to state representatives and etc.

----

To answer your question--Would I sue??

It would depend on the situation. I do know accidents happen and we're all human so I will take that into account. I feel all situations are different. If it was obvious neglect--SURE

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

NP2BE - I don't want to change the focus of this thread, but I must say:

No one can be that perfect and still be human. Not you, certainly not me. That is simply not realistic.

[NP2BE]

NP2BE - I don't want to change the focus of this thread, but I must say:

No one can be that perfect and still be human. Not you, certainly not me. That is simply not realistic.

agreed on the perfect thing, but if a bad mistake results in say, inability of a person to work the rest of his life, then isn't that what malpractice insurance is for, even if it were an innocent mistake made by a good doc?

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

Gross negligence? Go for it. Grey areas - a really good provider who made a small mistake, that one time out of the thousands of times they have dealt with it, but that ended up having a big/negative impact. To me that is much more difficult.

[NP2BE]

Gross negligence? Go for it. Grey areas - a really good provider who made a small mistake, that one time out of the thousands of times they have dealt with it, but that ended up having a big/negative impact. To me that is much more difficult.

I guess it really has to be looked at case by case

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

So very sorry for your loss. Would I sue? No, not if I were able to talk with the provider and find out why they made the decision they did. For me, that would be enough. I must then add though that my background is that I'm married to a career military guy and up until recently, recipients of military medical care had NO recourse in which to recoup losses. Everyone must reach their own conclusions.

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

I totally understand your feelings in regards to the nice new homes, cars, etc of the family you know. Kindof hard to stomach. However, you must keep in mind that if I had all the riches in the world, I would trade them back in a heartbeat for my boys and the family you know would probably do the same to see their son back.

Please accept my sincere condolences on the loss of your babies. I cannot imagine....

Yes. I would sue. No, I would not feel guilty about using the money to buy a home. Someone has to be held accountable. You need to be compensated for your loss in some small way. Even though the price of a home may have seemed steep before this event and almost inconsequential now, a home is a necessity. Buying a home does not detract from your babies' memory, a home is the affirmation of family that honors the life they lived, however brief.

[SmilingBluEyes]

In a case of gross negligence---------YES! Think of the next potential victim. Sometimes they have to be STOPPED so there is not another victim of similar negligence.I am sorry for the losses of your babies. It's heartbreaking, I know.

[askater11]

The above post mentions buying a home.

That reminds me of my friends sister. She had a strong case for neglect which left her son debilitated. It was a very sad story.

She won. She now lives in a 1/2 million dollar home, she has someone to care for the son most times. She hired this lady long before the lawsuit was done. Has electrical equipment for her son. (all sorts)

She is able to buy things you'd never imagine. She got rich from the lawsuit.

I would never want something horrible like that to get me rich. She went through a horrible time.

I sometimes wonder if extremely high payouts for sueing. A little less should be payed out and used to make the medical field a safer environment. I don't know I've never had something happen to me, my family or my child. All I hope is something can be done to help prevent further problems from happening again.

I guess I'm going on a different subject about sueing caps.

[MarySunshine]

Thanks everyone for your input. I had been feeling like I made a mistake, but your affirmation does help alleviate that fear.