A woman was shocked when her husband died only days after he was discharged from the hospital. When doctors claimed they could not explain why the 46-year-old man was suffering from lower back and side pain, he was sent home. Unfortunately, he was rushed to the hospital just over a week later and died from pulmonary embolisms, blood clots in the lungs, that were weeks old. This is a nightmare scenario that every North Carolina family dreads.
Now, the man’s wife is bringing a lawsuit against her husband’s health care providers for their failure to diagnose a fatal medical condition. According to the suit, doctors administered a few tests when the man was experiencing pain. They could have found the blood clots had they conducted a couple more tests. Their failure to thoroughly investigate the man’s obvious discomfort turned fatal.
At the time of the incident, the man had a thriving family. In addition to his wife, he had a 6-year-old son. The man was only 46 years old when he died, so he would have had many quality years to help raise his kid. Unfortunately, his time with his loved ones was cut short.
The man who passed away was also an executive with a multi-national pharmaceutical company, so he had a high yearly income. Lost wages are one of the primary components of the widow’s medical malpractice suit against the physicians and hospital system. Not only did she and her child suffer an immense amount of emotional trauma since the incident, but they have also had to figure out how to manage their financial situation without a major source of income.
When health care providers make fatal errors, families lose a lot. No one should have to deal with grief that could have been prevented had doctors exercised a bit more care in their practice. Malpractice lawsuits can help to improve the kind of care doctors provide by ensuring they take all the necessary and possible measures to bring their patients back to health.
Source: The Stamford Advocate, “Greenwich widow files malpractice suit against Tully Center,” Jeff Morganteen, March 5, 2012