Child Medical Malpractice Case?

Earlier this week (Tuesday) my 3 y/o had a bad fall where he fell off my office chair and hit the back of his head on my floor tile. He fell straight back hitting the back part of his head. The impact was hard and I wasn’t able to grab or catch him in time. He cried for approximately 10-15 mins and we took him to the our local Children’s Hospital (Phoenix Children’s Hospital). We were seen by a Nurse Practitioner upon initial physical assessment. However, my Toddler’s head injury although he struck the back of his head me (dad) and mom noticed that there was swelling on the side of the left side of his head. That was concerning for us so we made the NP aware and she said that she was going to have the Doctor come in and check him out as well. He initially assessment she said that he didn’t seem concussed, he wasn’t dizzy or having trouble walking. He never vomitted, he never lost consciousness. And by this time (4 hours had gone by while waiting for the Doctor after the NP’s first assessment. She said she didn’t think anything serious. But they wanted us to stay there 2 more hours (total of 6) to make sure. A short while after the Doctor came in and she pretty much said the same thing as the NP. The only thing that she said additionally was that she thought about doing a CT scan but because my son at this point looked fine. He was being his normal self, she didn’t suggest because of the radiation exposure. Also, if the spots where the impact was and the side swelling. Got “smushy” or he started to develop signs like throwing up, trouble walking, dizzy, etc to bring him back right away. Three days pass by and my son seems fine. However that spots on his back of the head has virtually gone down and is barely noticeable. Now the spot on the side of his head has gone down some but it’s still pretty noticeable. And it feels “smushy”. So my wife (mom) talks to her friend which is a Peds RN and she said we should take him back and demand a CT scan and or X-Ray. That she was shocked they didn’t do any imaging to rule anything out. She has seen times where unfortunately a child’s parents have been told similar to us and unfortunately they don’t wake up. Now she’s an RN in CA and we’re in AZ. Not that that should matter all children/people should receive the same standard and high quality of care as possible. So we took him back yesterday (3 days after the first hospital visit) and to make a long story short. My son had a CT scan and the results showed he has a hairline fracture and a minir superficial brain bleed. My wife’s RN friend said that we should seek an attorney for malpractice and negligence, because god forbid what if our son didn’t wake up. She emphasized how they didn’t do any imaging and said they don’t have x-ray vision to have just sent our son home with a CT/X-Ray. So her comments made me start to think. So I did some digging on the internet and found cases of children where they suffered a head injury, they had a physical assessment done by a medical provider, ruled okay to go home only to never wake up again. This really scared the crap out of me. Me and my Wife aren’t medical professionals we put our trust and hope into the healthcare professionals and trust they will do their absolute best. My wife’s RN friend said even if you don’t win the case it makes that Doctor and NP (Hospital) approach this situation differently in the future and can potentially save a child’s life. Sorry for the long post. Thank you in advance for any feedback and advise. Me and my wife have been through all sorts of emotions this week. Scared, sad and now honestly upset and mad. Thank you all for your valuable help! Do we have a case? TIA

https://ift.tt/EoMJBl9 Submitted June 16, 2024 at 03:21AM by Loud-Leopard6795 https://ift.tt/XC8Nv0H