Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in New York

My mother was admitted to a hospital in June 2009 with a urinary tract infection. She got very sick, had sepsis, kidney failure and needed temporary dialysis). She survived and got better and they released her to a Rehab facility. In the Rehab facility she was not eating and sleeping alot. I told the doctor something is wrong, but all they said was "maybe she doesn't like the food". She was in the Rehab for about 5 weeks. She went home and a day later the Visiting Nurse came and examined by mother and said that she had fluid in the lungs and that she needed to go to a hospital. She was admitted to a hospital but not until 6 days later did they tell me that she had pneumonia. She either got the pneumonia in the first hospital or in the Rehab. She then had C-diff. She was put on Heparin (for prevention of clots) but she had bleeding from mouth and rectum and everything went downhill from there. My mother died about 1 month after being admitted. The day she died there was I believe a pulmonary therapist in with her as my mother had a trach and he was doing something with the trach when my mother stopped breathing and CPR was done and a pulse came back. She then stopped breathing again and CPR was done but was stopped as they told me that it probably wouldn't do any good. I believe that when my mother first got diarrhea, it was not diagnosed as C-diff, they told me it was due to the medications, but later told me she had C-diff. I complained to the Patient Advocate Representative during my mother's stay about the quality of her care and how I was not being informed of what was being done to my mother. Things changed from that point, but it was too late, my mother passed days later. My mother was doing well and got out of ICU and into a regular room, but due to the Heparin being given to her (which she did not need), she had bleeding from her mouth and rectum, and she was put back into ICU. I believe that she was not diagnosed with pneumonia until 6 days after being admitted and Heparin being given to my mother which she did not need, caused her death. My mother was 85 years old and not in the best of health, but she was not dying before she got admitted.

I believe the Rehab was negligent in that my mother should have been examined and it should have been caught that she had pneumonia. I was at the Rehab everyday and I do not believe my mother was examined to see why she was not eating or why she was sleeping so much.

During the last week of my mother's life, I suspected negligence and asked for a copy of her medical records. Today I received a letter stating that I have to pay $670.00 for these records and if they don't get this money in full, the entire medical record will be destroyed after the 60 days. Can they do this?

Thank you for any advise you can give me.

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