Can you sue a hospital for advising you to increase a medication informally?

Answer 1

This question should be, "SHOULD you sue". You can sue for anything. But you need to know you'll have a chance of prevailing in order to justify the costs and hassle. Contrary to popular opinion, medical malpractice suits are not often resolved in favor of the plaintiff. I've heard attorneys tell me -- off the record -- that in order to win a malpractice suit in many parts of the country, you need to at least lose a limb, and dying would be a better legal strategy (please excuse the momentary humor :} ). Even suits for iotrogenic disorders that aren't even contested usually lose. Here are a few things to consider: * If they advised you to increase the dosage of a med "informally", I must assume there is no written record. Asking someone to be honest about a mistake they made when doing so will cost them their job and their license -- maybe -- is not at all a sure bet. As no-one ever intends to overdose someone else, you must assume that they'll remember this (or not) as a misunderstanding. You'll have a hard time proving exactly what, if anything was said. * Then you'll need to show this action caused you harm. Just having too much of a drug isn't going to win much of a suit. Even if the medication sent you into anaphylactic shock, if they brought you back safely, it's unlikely you'd win a damages suit (although you might get a cost reduction for the ER treatment for anaphylacsis). * If they told you to increase the dosage and admit it, you did it exactly as they rememebr telling you, and something went wrong, you'll still have to prove they didn't just make an honest mistake -- they have to be negligent. Negligence is VERY hard for the plaintiff to prove, especially without examples of prior similar negligence with other patients (which will require expensive research). * Emotional distress won't help unless you hire a hige legal team of hotshots and REALLY go after the hospital -- figure a retainer of maybe $100,000 to start a team action like this. I don't think you can find a single lawyer in America today that will take on an Emotional Distress case on contingency, and they'll almost always warn you there's no chance of winning. Medical mistakes always make patients and their families angry, and it's completely understandable. However, before you take this anger and act on it, you need to carefullly consider what you're trying to accomplish. If the hospital damaged the patient so that they'll need a lifetime of supplimentary care ONLY because the hospital overtly was negligent, then by all means go for it -- you'll need the money and support. But if you're angry you or a loved one was not treated with what you feel was an appropriate degree of caring and professionalism, and no lasting harm was done, then what are your goals in a lawsuit? To share your pain? If so, that's understandable, but it works poorly in a court of law, where you're likely to spend lots of time and money, frustration and humiliation, and in the end receive at best a tiny settlement -- or nothing at all. While I am no lawyer and surely cannot offer legal advice, I have in fact been in this position a few times. I would advise a friend or family what I'll tell you: Don't commence a lawsuit you aren't 99% sure you'll win, and that will pay you enough to justify your trouble (which will be immense). Right or wrong, if you aren't almost certain of a win, spend that energy (and money) on recovering from the illness or injury, or overcoming the trauma that hospitalization represents. Unless there's been a death or permanent, obvious injury, malpractice suits like this are horrorshows, and in the end, no-one wins at all -- most of the time.