I'm sorry for your obviously stressful situation.
What led to your husband's cath? Is he doing OK now?
Also, did you request a procedure report from the first and second hospital that determined their decisions?
I would go for the compensation, why should you be out of pocket because someone doesn't know what they are doing.
wow what a nightmare--but good luck suing if it's an HMO - they are impossible to sue!
Wrong equipment, wrong diagnosis, wrong treatment recommended?
I think a good lawyer would wipe the floor with them. In the UK they would settle out of court to avoid publicity. Personally I don't normally agree with law suits, but in this case I would just want my losses back.
He came to the Emergency room for chest pain and was admitted from there. His cardiac enzymes were normal the whole time, he had two abnormal EKG's that cleared up with medicine. No I haven't requested his medical records but I will. Thanks for the advice.
I'm really not into the money thing even though it would be nice if I could get reimbursed the money I was out of pocket. But what I would really like to see is... for him to come forth with the the mistake and try to educate other physicians on what he had done and maybe prevent something like this happening in the future. I don't want to smear his name... I just want people of the medical community to learn what happened to him and why it happened and how to prevent it from happening again. If I could save one person (and their family) from going through this... then my mission would be complete.
I forgot to mention my husband is doing great! I think he is still in shock though! He's thrilled about the good news and I am too! But I'm also extremely upset that it happened!
I had something similar in 2007. I was sent home with someone elses medication. Instead of 2.5mg daily of blood pressure meds, I was given 470mg twice a day. I phoned the ward and said I feel dizzy but they didn't seem interested. My blood pressure dropped so low over the next 48 hours that I nearly died. I did get a solicitor and met with the hospital management. They kept offering me very nice sums of money, but I told them I just want to see there are measures in place now so it can NEVER happen again. The protocols were completely changed and now a patient cannot leave the ward until a pharmacist has been to check over all the medication.
Just to add, they wanted the name of the nurse who gave me the meds. I knew who it was but refused to name her. She was just following the existing rules. It's ridiculous how they always have to find a scape goat and blame them for everything. She thanked me after for not telling, but the system was at fault, not her.