There is nothing more painful than watching someone you love go through pain. You just want to hold them and protect them. You trust doctors and the medical field to keep your loved one safe. But, what if it is the doctors and medical staff that are keeping your loved on sick? What if they are not appropriately acting with the standard of care necessary to keep your loved one alive? There are only so many questions you can ask a layperson who is not familiar with the medical field. What kind of questions are you supposed to ask when you are completely unfamiliar with what is going on?
We trust doctors and medical staff for a reason. We do this because we know nothing about the human body or what it needs. Sure, we have all read diet magazines and maybe we know about joints and stress, but at the end of the day, if you don’t have a medical degree or years of experience in the field, then you know very little. There has to be a trust between doctor and patient for this very reason. Doctors and medical staff take oaths to swear that they are looking out for every individual patient that crosses their path. What we forget, though, is that doctors are just like us: human.
Humans are not all mighty and humans mess up. However, when a mess up is the difference between life or death you have every right to be upset. This was the case for a mother in Hawaii. She was pregnant and was planned for a C-section due to foreseeable complications. However, before the scheduled date she started to feel extreme pain. A young, fresh doctor had little experience with this situation but was assigned to the mother anyway. Because the young doctor was inexperienced he waited for a more experienced doctor to make the call. Within that 10 minute wait, it was long enough for her child to experience a traumatic head injury. The child was born with cerebral palsy and is permanently and completely disabled. The child will need 24-hour help and care for the rest of his life. Before the case was brought to court, a settlement was approved.
The family will receive $9 million for all the necessary care that the child will need throughout his life. To someone outside the situation, this sounds like a lot of money. However, for the person who is experiencing the situation, the monetary value is a band-aid. The doctors cannot reverse what happened and the family’s life is forever changed.
If you or someone you know has experienced trauma due to medical malpractice, please call 808-736-5035 or click here to work with our medical malpractice attorneys in Hawaii at Kurzban, Kurzban, Tetzeli & Pratt P.A.. We know how to get your family the justice it deserves. We can’t change your situation, but we can help to make sure that it does not negatively effect for the rest of your life.