Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Ohio

24 year old dies suspiciously

He was in Cleveland clinic for 3 weeks. The death certificate says he died of pnomonia. The doc who did oudtopsy said something else had to have happened because he appeared healthy and he was 24. He also was bleeding out of his lungs and the examiner said that was not from pnomonia. While he was in hospital his mother says a doctor said they accidently punctured his lung. The examiner was all about finding the other thing and was communicating with the mom but all of a sudden he dont want to talk and he told her she would have to talk to the hospital. The hospital is refusing to give his mom the records because he was over 18 and did not leave a will, leaving her in charge. What can we do to get the records? He was also in another hospital before cleveland. He went in for pnomonia ( perfectly fine I droped him off) and a few hours later they called me to tell me they dont know what happened but he needed a tube down his througt and they were having trouble getting it in. They were getting ready to do a trak but they got it in, then sent him to Cleveland. I just dont know what to do he ment the world to me and Im not trying to get rich I (WE) just need to know what happened to the 23 yr.old that everyone loved. What should we do?


Asked on 2/19/09, 4:32 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
David Weilbacher, Esq. Attorney at Law

Re: 24 year old dies suspiciously

The medical records need to be reviewed by an independent doctor who can give an opinion regarding the cause of death. The medical records are available. A probate estate needs to be opened for the deceased; that will give the administrator of the estate the authority to request and receive the medical records. When did the death happen? The statute of limitations for a medical malpractice claim is 1 year. It can be extended to 18 months if the doctor/hospital is placed on notice within 1 year. The statute of limitations for a wrongful death claim is 2 years. In this type of case, both claims would ordinarily be made.

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Answered on 2/19/09, 8:01 pm


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