Would this be a case of wrongful death or medical malpractice?
Dad went in the hospital for a blocked artery . the surgery went well but a couple of hours later something went wrong and he ended up brain dead and died 6 days later Isn't this a case of wrongful death or medical malpractice.
This is a very sad situation, many condolences on your Dad's passing.
I know two things about medical malpractice lawsuits. First, the cause of death has to be from negligence, incompetence or failure to provide what is called standard of care AND you have to find other doctors who are willing to say so. Also factored in is what the length of life would have been without the surgery as well as how much living time a sustained problem from the surgery caused the patient to lose.
Second, most folks can't afford the cost of a medical malpractice lawsuit so attorneys tend to take these cases on a contingency basis based on what they believe it's worth at the end of the line. Unfortunately, the value of the case is diminished when someone older dies. There are formulas used to figure out what a person's life is worth such as what kind of earning potential they had, how much longer they had to work, what was their intrinsic value to the family, etc.
Sad but true, in the case of elderly folk, when the decision is made to have surgery, even if its life saving, there is the possibility of bad results. Each person responds differently to the procedures as well as differently to the healing. It is often said jokingly (altho its not funny but it can also be true) that the treatment was a success but the patient died.
My dad had a textbook-perfect prostate surgery, came home, had complications, returned to hospital, had crisis and finally came home two days later. He was only 69 at the time. In hindsight, whether it was the anesthesia or the post surgical complications, we don't know. What we DO know, but cannot prove, is that it was the beginning of his Alzheimer's that eventually killed him when he was 81. The moral of the story is that he HAD to have the surgery, we believed they did the best they could, and it was his body's response that failed him. No way to predict or overcome that.
My mum had a blockage in her leg last year and had vascular surgery, it was a success. A day or so before the surgery the surgeon phoned me just to have a chat to make sure that I was in agreement for mum to have the surgery, I said I was and I also asked the risks, he said heart attack, stroke and death were all possibilities but he put the chance of those happening in her case at about 2%. I think it would be very difficult to get a malpractice/wrongful death suit going unless you could prove that they failed to do the surgery correctly and even then it would probably cost you as much in lawyers fees as any money you would receive. It is really sad and unfortunate that this was the outcome of the surgery and I am very sorry for your loss. Focus on all the good memories with your dad and hold them close to your heart. xo
I am so sorry to read what happened. Vascular surgery comes with risks that can include things like stroke. We can't decide if there was malpractice or wrongful death because we do not have access to his files. Often there is no one to blame, only a sad set of circumstances. If you think there was wrong-doing, however, it is good to look into it.
I would ask for a copy of all the medical records take them to another doctor or lawyer to review (Including appointments from previous appointments, his GP.)
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I know two things about medical malpractice lawsuits. First, the cause of death has to be from negligence, incompetence or failure to provide what is called standard of care AND you have to find other doctors who are willing to say so. Also factored in is what the length of life would have been without the surgery as well as how much living time a sustained problem from the surgery caused the patient to lose.
Second, most folks can't afford the cost of a medical malpractice lawsuit so attorneys tend to take these cases on a contingency basis based on what they believe it's worth at the end of the line. Unfortunately, the value of the case is diminished when someone older dies. There are formulas used to figure out what a person's life is worth such as what kind of earning potential they had, how much longer they had to work, what was their intrinsic value to the family, etc.
Sad but true, in the case of elderly folk, when the decision is made to have surgery, even if its life saving, there is the possibility of bad results. Each person responds differently to the procedures as well as differently to the healing. It is often said jokingly (altho its not funny but it can also be true) that the treatment was a success but the patient died.
My dad had a textbook-perfect prostate surgery, came home, had complications, returned to hospital, had crisis and finally came home two days later. He was only 69 at the time. In hindsight, whether it was the anesthesia or the post surgical complications, we don't know. What we DO know, but cannot prove, is that it was the beginning of his Alzheimer's that eventually killed him when he was 81. The moral of the story is that he HAD to have the surgery, we believed they did the best they could, and it was his body's response that failed him. No way to predict or overcome that.
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