Medical Bills for Malpractice?

[swanson719]

So DW has been sick for a long time and in her most recent hospitalization they determined that she needed to switch from peritoneal to hemo dialysis. No big deal. Except it was.

When the radiologist was placing the hemo catheter, he punctured the atrium of DW's heart. They split her sternum, put some stitches in her heart, closed her back up w/ skin glue and no visible stitches, and sent her home a few days later with some pain killers, but no chest brace or anything of the sort.

The hospital has our insurance on file. A few days ago, we received a bill for $16,450 for the heart repair. This would never have been needed if the hospital had done it's job the right way in the first place. It's a month later, and she's still having chest pain to the point she can't get out of bed on some days. She can't even touch her sternum, and cries from coughing. It sucks. But what do we do about this $16K medical bill? We can just give it to the insurance, and they should cover it. But as far as we're concerned, it was malpractice on the hospitals part pretty cut and dry, so they should absorb the cost of fixing their mistake. We're not the law-suit type of people, we just want DW to be healthy again. Is it worth fighting the hospital to have them eat the bill, or would it be better to just give it to the insurance and let them work it out?

[zetta]

A medical malpractice lawsuit would drag on and put you both under a lot of stress. I would recommend letting the insurance have a go at it first, mostly for your own quality of life.

[ScrimpAndSave]

Are my pension and Roth enough?

Oops...I posted this in the wrong area!

My apologies.

[disneysteve]

The hospital has our insurance on file. A few days ago, we received a bill for $16,450 for the heart repair.

But what do we do about this $16K medical bill? We can just give it to the insurance, and they should cover it.

Yes, the bill should go to your insurance company and should be covered within the terms of your policy. Actually, I would call the hospital billing office and ask why they sent you the bill rather than submitting the claim to your insurance company.

As for malpractice, as a physician, that is obviously an area that I'm sensitive about. I wouldn't begin to comment on your specific situation but let me just make a general comment. A bad outcome is not automatically a malpractice case. Medical treatment has risks. Complications occur. Side effects and adverse reactions occur. These can sometimes be serious or even fatal, but it still does not mean they represent malpractice. A doctor or other medical professional can do everything right and still have things turn out poorly.

Certainly, you have every right to seek legal counsel and explore the possibility of bringing a malpractice suit against the involved parties, but that is a totally seperate issue from getting the bill paid. So call the hospital and tell them to submit their charges to your insurance company.

[creditcardfree]

I agree, contact insurance and have them pay the bill.

[swanson719]

We're not wanting to file a malpractice suit against the hospital - as DS said, mistakes happen - we just don't feel it's right that we got billed for it, or that our insurance should be paying for it in general. I do feel it's at least negligent that she didn't even get a chest brace or something to stabilize the bones, but I'm no doctor.