Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Florida
Use of vest restraints in hospital.
My mother was a cancer patient and admitted for dehydration. Due to her confusion, they put her in a vest restraint and had a ''sitter'' stay with her. That night, the hosp called and said mom was in ICU because she quit breathing. The sitter made comments to me that make me suspicious of strangulation. She eventually died in hospice due to adult failure to thrive, but have always wondered if she strangled herself on the vest. I am a nursing student in another state and know this happens. I've hesitated pursuing this because of the fact she had cancer and would eventually pass away anyway; however, she did not get adequate care there. There was another incident of putting her in a room that was still dirty from the last patient, while there my sister and I observed her receiving a blood glucose stick. We believe the tech that did it, thought she was still the pt who dirtied the room in the first place. He did not check her band or anything. To keep this brief, I will end here. Thank you.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Use of vest restraints in hospital.
I receive many hundreds of inquiries every year about potential medical malpractice cases. Almost all are based upon "suspicion" of what "might have happened," as in this case. Unfortunately, to have a medical malpractice claim you must prove that the doctor or hospital were negligent and that it was this negligence that caused the injuries or death. The case cannot be based upon your feelings, suspicions, or suppositions that the doctor or hospital may have been at fault. It must be based on expert testimony from a doctor that the doctor and/or hospital were negligent. Therefore, it is necessary first that you discuss this matter with another doctor and see if he or she is willing to state that the first doctor or the hospital were negligent. It is also necessary to obtain ALL medical records from the time you first saw the negligent doctor or entered the hospital and get those to an attorney for review. Establishing negligence is a difficult, but absolutely necessary, element of your case. And the evidence establishing negligence must come from a doctor; it cannot be based upon yours or my opinion.
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