Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Indiana

I went into the ER almost 6 months ago I started having sever pain around 8:30 p.m. I was pregnant at the time. I was having severe abdominal pains and I let them know I was pregnant. After being back in the room for awhile I passed out and was very dizzy anytime I tried to get up and the pain was getting worse. Even after passing out and barely being able to move because of the pain. The doctor came in and gave me a prescription for Mylanta he said that I was having gas. Did not do an ultrasound or even check on my baby and sent me home. My husband took me home and I was not even home for an 30 minutes and I tried getting up and become unconscious so he called the ambulance. Once I was back at the ER the doctor decided to admit me finally. They said nothing could be done until 7 or 8 in the morning for an ultrasound. By the time I was taken into my hospital room the pain was just getting worse. Around 7 or so the pain was so bad I completely passed out. I was finally taken to have an ultrasound I would say by 8 that morning. So I had been dealing with this all for basically 12 hours. Once I had the ultrasound hey found I had an ectopic pregnancy and that I had been bleeding internally the entire time. I was rushed to emergency with the obgyn doctor that was there that morning. I had to receive 2 pints of blood after all of it and they said I did not have much time before I had died. I have called a few laywers around my area and they are telling me that the case is not winnable. I do not see how it is not winnable. I have all the documentation from him sending me home even with the instructions from the emergency saying that if you are pregnant and experiencing severe abdominal pain you need to go to a doctor right away. I also have the prescription he gave me for "the gas" I was having according to him. My health has been terrible since all this. No matter what I would of lost my baby I am very well aware of that but he sent me home while I was bleeding internally. He did not do an ultrasound or anything, if he would have done something to check on the baby I would not of almost died and lost so much blood. Please any advice I would greatly appreciate.


Asked on 4/08/13, 8:48 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Larry Jackson Jackson Law Firm, LLC

I am sorry to hear of your loss and of the additional physical suffering you endured. Although an attorney cannot make a conclusive decision about whether a medical malpractice case should be taken without a careful review of the medical records and obtaining the opinion of a qualified physician (in most cases) I suspect the attorneys you have seen are really thinking that they can't bring the case because not because it is unwinnable but because it is not economical to do so. That is, medical malpractice cases are very expensive and very difficult to win. In your case, they are more likely thinking that since you did recover, there are not significant enough permanent injuries related to the hospital's negligence to justify taking on the expense and difficulty of proving the hospital was negligent. Many attorneys believe that there has to be a death or significant permanent injuries to justify the risk and expense of advancing a medical malpractice case. Once again, I am sorry for your loss and hope this answer is of benefit to you. Larry

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Answered on 4/09/13, 4:03 am


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