Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Arkansas
Death of mother
My mother recently passed away. My family feels that her death was a result of treatment and procedures that were administered to her incorrectly while a patient in a hospital. She had no will and her husband preceded her in death many years earlier. I would like to know how to obtain her medical records. I feel that once that we have these we will be able to determine, with some help, if there was malpractice. She originally went to the hospital for a back problem, which, according to the hospital, was fixed. While there they supposedly discovered cancer on her colon. According to the hospital they removed all of the colon cancer. My mother was a healthy 88 years old and lived alone before all this happened. While in the hospital she had a MRI and shortly afterwards had renal failure and passed away. I am the �informant� on her death certificate. I�ve been told that would be enough to get the hospital and doctors to release her records.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Death of mother
Call the hospital and ask for the records department and inquire about what is needed to get a copy of medical records. Ask if there is a cost and for the address to which you should send the information. Follow-up with the letter confirming the conversation and enclosing the requested information.
I used to defend hospitals and typically when a patient of your mother's age passed away, we typically felt it was defensible in that the patient had lived out the majority of their life. In other words, and with all due respect, they did not have many years to live anyway.
Even so, it is worth looking into because if there was obvious negligence which caused her early death, then that is worth something.
I have an article on the medical malpractice statute of limitations at my website, www. lawrefs.com and many articles on medical malpractice which you should find informative.
Good luck and if you determine that you need a good attorney, as defense counsel to the hospitals, I did encounter many good ones to whom I could refer you.
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