Family awarded compensation for hospital negligence
January 4th, 2017People trust Louisiana hospitals and emergency rooms on a daily basis to care for their loved ones when a health crisis arises. Unfortunately, hospitals do not always provide the highest expected standard of care. Whatever the reason for hospital negligence regarding patients, when it happens, it can have devastating consequences. Recently, in another state, a family was awarded compensation for the wrongful death of their father at a hospital.
On an Easter Sunday, a 78-year-old man was taken to his local emergency room. He had complained of symptoms suggestive of congestive heart failure. After being worked up in the emergency room, he was diagnosed and admitted to the hospital for congestive heart failure and an abnormal heart rhythm.
Overnight he became sicker and needed more care than his nurses on the floor he was admitted to could give him. Orders were made to move him to a critical care unit for further treatment. For unknown reasons, the transfer did not happen for 11 hours. The transfer was only urgently made once the patient became unconscious. He remained in the critical care unit for 11 days until he sadly passed away.
The family sought compensation in civil court against the hospital, asserting that had he been transferred sooner to critical care, he might still be alive. Based on the evidence presented, the jury awarded the family $250,000 for their loss. Families that suspect that they have lost a loved one in a similar situation could benefit from speaking to a medical malpractice attorney in Louisiana about their options for a hospital negligence lawsuit.
Source: telegram.com, “Jury finds malpractice in UMass Memorial lawsuit“, Gary V. Murray, Dec. 26, 2016
