Do you think he has a right to complain and perhaps seek compensation?

I don't know how much legal stuff could be done, but I do know that in all cases it's best to have a friend with you who can ask questions and keep asking until answers are given. The first hospital may have told him to go to his own doctor ASAP and he either didn't hear or didn't pay attention. Often when specialized care is required this is what a hospital will do. I have been on the other end, trying to clean these types of wounds and it is very difficult, especially in the ER where you are always pressured for time. Get a copy of the hospital records for that first visit and any there after, keep these in case you want to look into legal action.

I said so earlier this month. I've never had bad care in the hospital, but my roomie had problems from her former GP. And Maggiepie left a hospital with a needle still in her arm, but she didn't get out of the parking lot with it! I made sure of that!

ho ellie yes indeed he does have the right to even sue, that was a haphazard way to treat an injury so severe. why Im 83, so this was a longtime back, I was sent to this new patients room to prep him for knee surgery. He had beenthrown out of his gasoline truck and skidded aways on his knee. there was debris and gravel particles buried in his flesh.We my nurse friend and I had been on our way backto the hospital for our three to eleven shift when we saw the results of his accident. We sent for an ambulance, and stayed til they got there. When I got on the floor I was sent as I said to clean and remove all particles from this poor man's knee, the same man we saw out on the highway on our way back home. the knee was anesthesized so he was not going to feel any pain. It must have taken me forty minutes with a fine tweezers to get all the particles I could see, then I washed the whole area with an antiseptic wash and covered it with sterile gauze. now this was 60 some years ago. so it we were that up on the procedures then now with all modern technology they should have cleaned that wound thoroughly with the most modern techniques available. The man survived head wound and leg wound and did not have to have any huge surgery,just a matter of being sure the wound was cleaned then stitching it up, and as far as I knew he had no more problems with it either. I a few years back ruptured the tendon in my left foot and because of a quack instead of a good doctor, I ended up with having a misshapen foot with special really expensive ortho. shoes with a brace on my left shoe just so I can walk. the foot doctor said it was too late to operate as it had been too long, but the insurance really did not want to pay for the extensive surgery needed to repair my foot as I was over sixty. a nasty little secret not many know that you get denied certain surgeries thay would make you whole again if you ,gasp. are over sixty, the fact that I am still living at 83 should tell the hmos that yes we do live longer now and yes we should have repair surgery so we can live normally instead of being forced to make do with a crippled foot.I learned that had I been 59 I could have had the surgery and the hmo would have paid it. not fair, not fair at all.

Hi ellie, Oh!!! awful, its incompetence on their part and I think he has a good case there. but it maybe a long one as we all know what hosptitals are like, they always try to cover up their mistakes but he should sue them. Tamara

Hello Ellie. Yes I think that he definitely should make a complaint in this instant. He sounds like the treatment he received wasn't entirely up to scratch. Whenever something goes wrong a complaint has to be made so that people are aware of the situation and hopefully the hospital can then learn from their mistakes. When you are talking about someone's medical treatment this always has to be at the top of the list and any medical negligence on the part of the hospital should not be ignored. If he was to make a complaint he should definitely get some sound advice first so that he would know what to expect. I think that these types of cases take a long time to resolve and I'm pretty sure the powers that be try to make things so difficult that the person making the complaint eventually gives in and retracts the complaint. You hear about these things constantly on the news and they are a real eye opener as to what is really going on in our hospitals! Andrew