Legal Question in Personal Injury in Pennsylvania
My boyfreind was recently assulted and lifelighted to a pa hospital. while he was there they had taken xrays of an arm that he could barley move. They had told him that nothing was wrong after he countinually told them that it hurt and he could not move it. They said it was just sore muscles and such. He went for a week trying to loosin it up moving it as much as he could. Then the next couple days he could move it less and less. He went to his family doctor and found out the 3 days later that he had a broken arm, torn roto cuff(completly torn off) and some other bone fragment that is stuck in a joint or something of that sort. His arm is basically now all shredded up. He now has to have surgery and not even now if it is going to help him move his arm too much. also the insurance and other help we can get comes no where near surgery cost. I feel that the hospital is liable for helping with medical cost and get sued for extra pain he had to go through since they didnt not help him when he was in their care. Can you please help us we are in desprete need of help.
2 Answers from Attorneys
The hospital may very well be liable for your boyfriend's extra pain, but I would need more information before I could say whether it's liable for anything else. Does he have any evidence that his injury became worse due to the delay? It might not have, especially if he didn't move his arm very much. If the injury didn't become worse over those few extra days, then the only harm he suffered was three days worth of additional pain. There would be no reason to make the first hospital pay for his surgery or treatment if it was the same surgery and treatment he would have needed anyway.
But if the injury did become worse, then the hospital is probably liable for the additional costs of his surgery and treatment, as well as for any additional limitations he will have to face due to the injury (for example, if he has 70% range of movement but would have had 90% had they operated on the first day). They would also be liable for additional pain and suffering over time, and for any lost income he can prove was caused by the delay (for example, if he has a career that required 80% range of movement and lost it just because of the delay).
Your boyfriend should consult with some local medical malpractice lawyers. They might not think the case is worth taking if it's just over three days of additional pain (unless the pain was very bad), but the more serious the case is the more interested they will be.
Good luck.
I agree with the response of the attorney above. You mention that your boyfriend was assaulted. Is this by someone he knew? Is there criminal charges pending against the perpetrator? Your boyfirend would be advised to call an attorney to discuss all aspects of this unfortunate situation. If he would like to discuss it further he could call my office.
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