Legal Question in Health Care Law in Missouri

misdiagnosis of a blood clot

My wife drove to missouri from oklahoma to see family, while there she started to have chest pains so went to the ER. She waited for about 30mins had met with a doctor and was told she was just having pains due to stress. My wife later contacted me and I went to pick her up and bring her back, we did not want to go to the hospital because she was told it was nothing but it was getting worse so we went and would later find out she had blood clots in the lung. For 5-days we were at the hospital, she is going to be on coumadin for the rest of her life. Here's the kicker, the hospital in MO took x-rays and it showed increased markings in the left lung (where the clots were). We have a copy of this and an insurance investigator has contacted us, we are not looking to get rich but are looking to be compensated for everything we went through. My questions are.... how much should we ask for? should we just ask to cover the cost of the hospital bills? Do we need to get a lawyer? They have told us they would like to settle. Thank you for your help and any advice.


Asked on 5/24/06, 5:43 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jeff Heinrichs McLeod & Heinrichs

Re: misdiagnosis of a blood clot

It certainly sounds as if there was a problem with the care your wife received. Unfortunately, we have seen several similar cases in which doctors have failed to diagnose life-threatening blood clots. To answer your questions regarding how much you should ask for and how to proceed requires some additional information from you. I would be happy to visit with you about your case. Please feel free to email me at [email protected].

The important thing to remember is that before you sign anything with the insurance company, be very sure that it is a fair settlement. Once you sign their settlement agreement, you will never be able to ask for any more money even if you wife's condition worsens. Good luck and if I may be of service to you, please email me.

Jeff Heinrichs

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Answered on 5/24/06, 6:00 pm


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