Death after two-hour ER wait ruled homicide!

[Lizzard[MPE]]

i do remember visiting one hospital several times over a month or two and each time them telling me i pulled the muscles in my back playing volleyball over the summer. turned out i had gallstones. bad bad hospital.

i dont think anyones horror story can compare to greebes though.

[Dr Mordrid]

In the summer of middle son Chris's 16th year he and a friend had gone to Blocks, a local farmers market on their bikes. It was about 3:30 PM, and after getting some grapes to snack on they decided to hit a party store for some pops. They had the light and proceeded to cross ~150 feet from the intersection (store was straight across the road) when a 3/4 ton Chevy 4x4 pickup jumped the light at full throttle.

Chris was hit broadside with the truck going ~50+ mph. He was launched airborn & cartwheeling. At one point he took out a triple mailbox, continued to cartwheel and hit the ground 130 feet from the impact point. He slid another 30+ feet until he hit the tire of a parked car. His friend scooted to our house to notify us, whereupon we raced to the scene.

The squad was already there (fire station right down the street) and loading him. We wanted him to go to the Henry Ford affiliated ER a few miles away, but the 'rules' said we were in the catchment of another hospital so he had to be transported there. It was 2-3 miles further.

At ANNAPOPLIS HOSPITAL he was taken into the ER and X-rays performed. He was of course unconcious so a CAT scan was done.

No skull fracture or obvious intracranial bleeding, however he had several body fractures:

shattered right lower leg
fractured right femur
5 broken ribs low on the right side
fractures of all 3 bones of the right pelvis extending into the hip socket
partially separated right sacro-iliac joint
fractured right radius (lower arm bone)
fractured right clavicle

They put him in an ER bed and started monitoring him at about 5:00 PM. Bloods taken etc. The results came back quickly with mostly the expected findings, but one that got the radar of myself (medical type), my brother in law (rescue/fireman) and father in law (fire chief) buzzing: his hematocrit ('crit) was low, indicating blood loss. Not dangerously low yet, but low.

Still unconcious at about 6:00 and another blood draw. Reault: even lower 'crit. Questioned ER resident, not concerned. Chris still unconcious, but to all 3 of us with medical experience he was visibly deteriorating.

7:30 PM: another blood draw, and his 'crit was even lower. Now we're getting upset. Doctor tries to reassure us, but now the family is getting antsy to say the least. Surgeon is not in the hospital but on call, but they won't call him

9:00 PM: another draw, and the 'crit is even lower and his color is changing.

Now people are getting PISSED. No action other than blood draws and IV changes, NO STAFF SURGEON IN THE BUILDING and apparently the ER docs don't know what the F*** they're doing.

Standard procedure at our hospital when the 'crit is dropping like this is to do an abdominal lavage: insert a tube in the abdominal cavity, put in a liter of saline then siphon it out.

If it's essentially clear or pink then it's OK. If it comes out RED then alarms go off and the presumtion is internal bleeding. Get the surgeon on the horn and get moving.

ANNAPOLIS HOSPITAL seems not to know how to do an abdominal lavage, and resists all suggestions that one should be done. Pat on the head & please go back to the waiting room

10:00 PM's lab values show a 'crit that is VERY low, and his color is poor. His right lower leg is sweeling a LOT and discolored. I'm suspecting a compartment syndrome, but no one is listening.

We have had it and now demand he be sent by ambulance to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. It's 20 minutes by freeway, but they know what in hell they're doing. Arrangements made (otherwise someone was going to get SHOT) and he's off and running at 80 mph.

We arrive at Henry Ford Hospital at about 10:40. At 10:41:30 the ER surgeon, who is not at home but is in the building all night, takes one look and asks "what in hell has Annapolis been doing with this kid?" We say "sitting on him, drawing bloods and ignoring his dropping 'crit".

ER doc is not a happy man, especially after seeing the X-rays. He states that with that many broken ribs down low (right over the liver) they should have done the abdominal lavage as soon as he hit the ER. No S**T!!??

He does a quickie lavage, not waiting the few minutes typical before siphoning it out: it comes out so red it's opaque. Chris is bleeding severely.

At 10:42:00 said surgeon is on the phone to the OR telling them to get one ready in 1 minute because he and Chris will be there in "1 minute & 10 seconds."

NOW we're talking.

Doc gives the odds before leaving: less than 50%. Margie is so stunned she can't talk for almost an hour. I'm not suprised and very, very angry. Margie is convinced we're going to lose a son, and I can't disagree.

5 hours later the Doc comes out and informs us that Chris was a very lucky kid. They almost used up the whole blood bank keeping him going, but the bleeding was stopped.

Uppance: Chris had a lacerated liver that ANNAPOLIS HOSPITAL totally missed.

If he'd stayed in that ER another hour he'd have bled out and died.

They also missed a hemorrage in his right lower leg, which did indeed set up the compartment syndrome I was worried about. CS is into the tissue is contained in the muscle sac and it compresses circulation. It too required surgery to resolved.

Chris came out of his coma 4 1/2 days later, not that he was coherent for several days after.

Basic recovery, needless to say, took over a year.

Today at age 23 he has memory problems, nerve damage in the right leg, arthritis of the hip & sacro-iliac joint, back problems (we suspect a bulging disc), one leg a bit crooked and short etc. etc.

For a few years after the accident he also exhibited aggression and outbursts, which the docs attributed to the severe concussion he sustained. Rather hard on the furniture and he had to be on Depakote (divalproex sodium) and Prozac for quite a while, but today he's coping much better. Still; he's frustrated by his physical problems.

Even so he's lucky to be alive because ANNAPOLIS HOSPITAL DAMNED NEAR KILLED HIM !!

So....if you come into Metro Airport and hurt yourself ANNAPOLIS HOSPITAL is likely your destination.

My advice: tell the ambulance to stop, call a cab and go almost anywhere else....even a veterinarian would be better.

[lowlifecat]

about a year ago I almost killed myself by being stubborn.

had severe abdominal pains starting late sunday night. i figured it was somekind of gas/indigestion or food poisoning. went to work monday and plowed through... went to work on tuesday and couldn't make it through the whole shift. left work 3 hours early.

went to see family doc wend morning. she thought it might be my appendix and referred me to the hospital. sat in the waiting room atleast 4 hours before i passed out from the pain. i was awakened a couple hours later and admitted. at this point the pain had stopped completely unless i was poked...

at this point I was poked and proded by 7 different doctors, 15 minutes between each one. You'd think atleast 1 of them would figure out an inflamed appendix.

finally they decided to pump me full of radio-active metals and scan me, holy shit you've got a badly inflamed appendix that has to come out now. gee thanks. 1 1/2 hours later i'm in the OR.

I'm lucky the doo-hicky didn't burst on monday or tuesday 'cause i would have assumed i'd gotten over whatever was bugging and kept going... and gone septic.

*damn, gotta do some work. more later*

[KvHagedorn]

In the summer of middle son Chris's 16th year he and a friend had gone to Blocks, a local farmers market on their bikes. It was about 3:30 PM, and after getting some grapes to snack on they decided to hit a party store for some pops. They had the light and proceeded to cross ~150 feet from the intersection (store was straight across the road) when a 3/4 ton Chevy 4x4 pickup jumped the light at full throttle.

Chris was hit broadside with the truck going ~50+ mph. He was launched airborn & cartwheeling. At one point he took out a triple mailbox, continued to cartwheel and hit the ground 130 feet from the impact point. He slid another 30+ feet until he hit the tire of a parked car. His friend scooted to our house to notify us, whereupon we raced to the scene.

The squad was already there (fire station right down the street) and loading him. We wanted him to go to the Henry Ford affiliated ER a few miles away, but the 'rules' said we were in the catchment of another hospital so he had to be transported there. It was 2-3 miles further.

At ANNAPOPLIS HOSPITAL he was taken into the ER and X-rays performed. He was of course unconcious so a CAT scan was done.

No skull fracture or obvious intracranial bleeding, however he had several body fractures:

shattered right lower leg
fractured right femur
5 broken ribs low on the right side
fractures of all 3 bones of the right pelvis extending into the hip socket
partially separated right sacro-iliac joint
fractured right radius (lower arm bone)
fractured right clavicle

They put him in an ER bed and started monitoring him at about 5:00 PM. Bloods taken etc. The results came back quickly with mostly the expected findings, but one that got the radar of myself (medical type), my brother in law (rescue/fireman) and father in law (fire chief) buzzing: his hematocrit ('crit) was low, indicating blood loss. Not dangerously low yet, but low.

Still unconcious at about 6:00 and another blood draw. Reault: even lower 'crit. Questioned ER resident, not concerned. Chris still unconcious, but to all 3 of us with medical experience he was visibly deteriorating.

7:30 PM: another blood draw, and his 'crit was even lower. Now we're getting upset. Doctor tries to reassure us, but now the family is getting antsy to say the least. Surgeon is not in the hospital but on call, but they won't call him

9:00 PM: another draw, and the 'crit is even lower and his color is changing.

Now people are getting PISSED. No action other than blood draws and IV changes, NO STAFF SURGEON IN THE BUILDING and apparently the ER docs don't know what the F*** they're doing.

Standard procedure at our hospital when the 'crit is dropping like this is to do an abdominal lavage: insert a tube in the abdominal cavity, put in a liter of saline then siphon it out.

If it's essentially clear or pink then it's OK. If it comes out RED then alarms go off and the presumtion is internal bleeding. Get the surgeon on the horn and get moving.

ANNAPOLIS HOSPITAL seems not to know how to do an abdominal lavage, and resists all suggestions that one should be done. Pat on the head & please go back to the waiting room

10:00 PM's lab values show a 'crit that is VERY low, and his color is poor. His right lower leg is sweeling a LOT and discolored. I'm suspecting a compartment syndrome, but no one is listening.

We have had it and now demand he be sent by ambulance to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. It's 20 minutes by freeway, but they know what in hell they're doing. Arrangements made (otherwise someone was going to get SHOT) and he's off and running at 80 mph.

We arrive at Henry Ford Hospital at about 10:40. At 10:41:30 the ER surgeon, who is not at home but is in the building all night, takes one look and asks "what in hell has Annapolis been doing with this kid?" We say "sitting on him, drawing bloods and ignoring his dropping 'crit".

ER doc is not a happy man, especially after seeing the X-rays. He states that with that many broken ribs down low (right over the liver) they should have done the abdominal lavage as soon as he hit the ER. No S**T!!??

He does a quickie lavage, not waiting the few minutes typical before siphoning it out: it comes out so red it's opaque. Chris is bleeding severely.

At 10:42:00 said surgeon is on the phone to the OR telling them to get one ready in 1 minute because he and Chris will be there in "1 minute & 10 seconds."

NOW we're talking.

Doc gives the odds before leaving: less than 50%. Margie is so stunned she can't talk for almost an hour. I'm not suprised and very, very angry. Margie is convinced we're going to lose a son, and I can't disagree.

5 hours later the Doc comes out and informs us that Chris was a very lucky kid. They almost used up the whole blood bank keeping him going, but the bleeding was stopped.

Uppance: Chris had a lacerated liver that ANNAPOLIS HOSPITAL totally missed.

If he'd stayed in that ER another hour he'd have bled out and died.

They also missed a hemorrage in his right lower leg, which did indeed set up the compartment syndrome I was worried about. CS is into the tissue is contained in the muscle sac and it compresses circulation. It too required surgery to resolved.

Chris came out of his coma 4 1/2 days later, not that he was coherent for several days after.

Basic recovery, needless to say, took over a year.

Today at age 23 he has memory problems, nerve damage in the right leg, arthritis of the hip & sacro-iliac joint, back problems (we suspect a bulging disc), one leg a bit crooked and short etc. etc.

For a few years after the accident he also exhibited aggression and outbursts, which the docs attributed to the severe concussion he sustained. Rather hard on the furniture and he had to be on Depakote (divalproex sodium) and Prozac for quite a while, but today he's coping much better. Still; he's frustrated by his physical problems.

Even so he's lucky to be alive because ANNAPOLIS HOSPITAL DAMNED NEAR KILLED HIM !!

So....if you come into Metro Airport and hurt yourself ANNAPOLIS HOSPITAL is likely your destination.

My advice: tell the ambulance to stop, call a cab and go almost anywhere else....even a veterinarian would be better.

For all your tough talk I doubt you'd do what I would have. Honestly, if those incompetents had killed my son, I would have gone there with all my guns loaded and wasted those stupid sophomoric resident pricks. AND the triage nurse.

[KvHagedorn]

Try shattering your hip and being told by the triage nurse that they won't give pain meds because "too many drug addicts claim injury to get a quick fix for the night".

then for them to have 5 nurses attempt to pile ontop of you in an attempt to force you flat on the XRay table (3 hours after being admitted) when all your muscles have locked in place. (I had to nearly bite the one trying to hold my head down before they realised I wasn't going to comply with their morbid actions)

Then after said XRays were developed and looked at, being told that they can't see anything wrong. So sorry we can't administer any meds. (Polite way of saying I was only there with a fake injury and only wanted a fix for the night).

Then at ~6:30am (7 hours after being admitted) being woken by a surgical Doctor profusely appologizing for the delay, "They didn't tell us you were here til just a few minutes ago" and "we're taking you to surgery right now". I politely ask if there was ANYTHING they could give me for the pain, being told it's on the way, again we're so sorry for this...

Next afternoon the Doc came in to consult me, when he (basically) finished asked if I could see the Xray's. Sure I'll be right back.. 5 minutes later, with an uneducated eye for things of this type, COULD CLEARLY AND PLAINLY SEE THE FRACTURED FEMOR IN ALL XRAYS TAKEN!!!

I refused to pay the bill (this wasn't the only abuse while there) and for the next 10 years they held it against me on my credit report!

BTW those other abuses included costing me my job and my home while under their care!

I've still not recovered from it, physically or financially. Tho at this point in time the physical is a minor issue and has been for many years now (for the most part, just don't run or do heavy lifting, typical job requirement in my profession), but the financial impact is another matter all together.

Where's an ambulance chaser when you need one?

[Wombat]

For all your tough talk I doubt you'd do what I would have. Honestly, if those incompetents had killed my son, I would have gone there with all my guns loaded and wasted those stupid sophomoric resident pricks. AND the triage nurse.

Just to make sure, you are childless, I hope?

[Dr Mordrid]

Actually my way would be to punch the m/f'er out.

Much more satisfying in such circumstances, and believe me much more painful for him.

Size 12 hands & regular bag work.

[schmosef]

have any of you guys sought medical malpracrice suits against the hospitals in question?

[Jessterw]

In the case of Doc's story, it's possible they could have and actually won. In Greebe's case, it's rather doubtful he could have won a malpractice suit, though still possible.

In mine, well I came out no worse for wear and medical covered all my expenses, and there's the fact that the bad part about my experience was the wait and lack of proper attention before surgery.

[schmosef]

I asked, not because I was interested in the $ aspect, but in the policy reform that would go along with a successful charge.

[ND66]

Just made the news today.

U.S. Health-Care System Gets a "D"

The U.S. health-care system is doing poorly by virtually every measure. That's the conclusion of a national report card on the U.S. health-care system, released Sept. 20. Although there are pockets of excellence, the report, commissioned by the non-profit and non-partisan Commonwealth Fund, gave the U.S. system low grades on outcomes, quality of care, access to care, and efficiency, compared to other industrialized nations or generally accepted standards of care. Bottom line: U.S. health care barely passes with an overall grade of 66 out of 100.
The survey was carried out by 18 academic and private-sector health-care leaders, who rate the system on 37 different measures. The poor grade is particularly discomfiting, the researchers note, because the U.S. spends more on medicine, by far, than any other country. Approximately 16% of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) is devoted to health care, compared with 10% or less in other industrialized nations.

Health care is also responsible for most new job creation, according to BusinessWeek's Sept. 25 cover story (see BusinessWeek.com, 9/25/06, "What's Really Propping Up The Economy"). Yet the U.S. ranks 15th out of 19 countries in terms of the number of deaths that could have been prevented. The study estimates that each year 115 out of 100,000 U.S. deaths could have been avoided with timely and appropriate medical attention. Only Ireland, Britain, and Portugal scored worse in this category, while France scored the best, with 75 preventable deaths per 100,000.

Below Potential. The U.S. ranks at the bottom among industrialized countries for life expectancy both at birth and at age 60. It is also last on infant mortality, with 7 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared with 2.7 in the top three countries. There are dramatic gaps within the U.S. as well, according to the study. The average disability rate for all Americans is 25% worse than the rate for the best five states alone, as is the rate of children missing 11 or more days of school.

The report found that quality of care and access to care varied widely across the country, and it noted substantial gaps between national averages and pockets of excellence. The authors concluded that, if the U.S. improved and standardized health-care performance and access, approximately 100,000 to 150,000 lives could be saved annually, along with $50 billion to $100 billion a year.

The Commonwealth Fund, which studies health-care issues, commissioned the report last year as part of an effort to come up with solutions to the nation's troubled health-care system. The report "tells us that overall we are performing far below our national potential," says Dr. James J. Mongan, chairman of the team that pulled together the study and chief executive officer of Partners Healthcare in Boston. "We can do much better and we need to do much better," he says.

Among the reports' findings:

--Only 49% of U.S. adults receive the recommended preventive and screening tests for their age and sex.

--Only half of patients with congestive heart failure receive written discharge instructions regarding care following hospitalization.

--Nationwide, preventable hospital admissions for patients with chronic health conditions such as diabetes and asthma were twice as high as the level achieved by the best performing states.

--Hospital 30-day re-admission rates for Medicare patients ranged from 14% to 22% across regions.

--One-third of all adults under 65 have problems paying their medical bills or have medical debt they are paying over time.

--Only 17% of U.S. doctors use electronic medical records, compared with 80% in the top three countries.

--On multiple measures across quality of care and access to care, there is a wide gap between low income and the uninsured, and those with higher incomes and insurance. On average, measures for low income and uninsured people in these areas would have to improve by one-third to close the gap.

--As a share of total health expenditures, insurance administrative costs in the U.S. were more than three times the rate in countries with integrated payment systems.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20060921/bs_bw/tc20060921053503