Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Louisiana

The Medical Malpractice Act covers all "Qualified Healthcare Providers" in Louisiana and imposes serious procedural requirements on medical malpractice lawsuits, and limits recovery. I do not tell you this to discourage you from seeking legal help with your issue, but rather to communicate the importance of retaining an attorney. These cases are often taken on a contingency basis, that is, you dont pay for representation unless the attorney collects money for you.

You mey indeed have a viable case; you certainly have a viable complaint and unfortunantly those two are not always consistant. Go to an attorney you trust, bring with you all of the information you can gather on the events that brought about this tragedy and the attorney should be able to tell you if you have a viable claim.

I am sorry for your loss, I know it is difficult, and made more so by the neglect you feel you have recieved from the system. Hang in there, and take care of yourself. And when you feel up to it, go see an attorney. You have a year from the date of the denial of care to assert a claim related to that issue, and a year from the death to assert a claim realting to that issue. Good luck too you.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain or spinal cord which is treated by the administration of antibiotics. If left untreated or if treatment is delayed, it is nearly always fatal or disabling. Because treatment is available, liability may be based on failure to diagnose and treat meningitis immediately. For example, in University of Ala. Health Servs. Found., P.C. v Bush by & Through Bush (1994, Ala) 638 So 2d 794, 51 ALR5th 815, the court affirmed a jury verdict against a neurosurgeon who treated a patient with the antibiotic Mefoxin where expert testimony established that the applicable standard of care required one treatment regimen to be followed, the administration of a combination of the antibiotics ampicillin and chloramphenicol. Failure to properly diagnose and treat the problem gives rise to liability on the part of the doctor and the hospital.