| Family of Amputee Files Medical Negligence Lawsuit |
| An Ohio family has filed a lawsuit against doctors at two hospitals, claiming their son was not properly treated after his legs were amputated last year. According to the lawsuit, Steven “Blake” Haxton had both of his legs amputated after contracting a flesh-eating bacteria, but that the post-operative care fell “below medical standards” and the family was not “properly informed of a treatment plan.” The lawsuit is seeking at least $25,000 in damages. Bruce Cadwallader, Columbus Dispatch 01/09/2010 |
| Read Article: Columbus Dispatch |
Commentary on Role of Legal Nurse Consultant and Nurse Life Care Planner in This Case
There were many issues in this posting that struck me both as a Legal Nurse Consultant and in my role as a Nurse Life Care Planner:
-Were the services of a Legal Nurse Consultant used in reviewing this young man’s chart? How was the standard of care he received specifically evaluated?
The experience a certified Legal Nurse Consultant brings to medical records review and evaluation provides in-depth and detailed analysis due to the fact that nurses, in general, are the professionals most involved in keeping these records. More to the point, a certified Legal Nurse Consultant is an expert in interpreting medical records, understands and is well versed in parsing out the subtext of these very complicated documents. In this case, there are 15 physicians, and multiple treatment locations—all with records to be organized and reviewed.
-The post mentions that damages in excess of $25,000 were being sought. If care was indeed sub-par, I sincerely hope that the services of a Nurse Life Care Planner were also sought.
The expenses associated with a bi-lateral above knee amputee are only beginning with the fitting, fabrication occupational therapy and training on the first set of prostheses. If the amount mentioned is close to what the family is actually seeking, I trust that his health benefits provider has a very informed case manager advocating for technologically advanced prostheses, provided that he is a candidate for this technology.
In particular, lower extremity amputees require multiple prostheses over the course of a lifetime, due to wear and tear, changes in their weight and other conditions. At the age of 19 and being an athlete, he could potentially benefit from both high technology prostheses, as well as a second set of prostheses for sports activities. Psychological counseling will probably also come into play as he deals with changes in body image and frustrations in adjusting to his new lifestyle.
Further, the family has already started down the road of adapting their home with ramps, etc. There will be additional costs as he progresses back into more activities of daily living.
Finally, I would encourage the family, if they haven’t already, to familiarize themselves on the Ohio Prosthetic Parity legislation. A link to more information about this law can be found at Arms and Legs are Not a Luxury. This legislation covers such issues as pre-existing conditions when changes in health benefits carriers are made, as well as caps on coverage of prostheses that may be stated in the health care policy.
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