A patient in Massachusetts was severely injured when she fell from a ladder at her home and cracked a rib. The patient's broken rib was dangerously close to the aorta, and could puncture the important artery at any time. The woman was taken to a local hospital, but the nurses and doctors suggested they transport her to Massachusetts General. The injuries were so severe that this smaller hospital did not want to deal with them.

Instead, the victim was taken to this larger hospital, but did not get the chest imaging that she needed. The team at Massachusetts General also failed to perform a reduction of the displaced rib. The doctors monitored the woman overnight, but said that they were going to wait until the next morning to perform a chest X-ray. The victim was given an epidural for pain relief. Medical professionals noted that she had a bad cough, but did nothing to help her with that issue. They had already been warned that even the slightest motion could cause her rib to pierce her aorta, causing death.

The woman was in her hospital bed awaiting an X-ray when she coughed violently. The motion caused the sharp tip of her broken rib to puncture her aorta. She went into cardiac arrest and did not respond to treatment. She was pronounced dead at 9:49 a.m. The surgical team who attempted to save her discovered a 1-centimeter hole in the patient's aorta right near the tip of the fractured rib.

This woman was a mother of three, and her family is mourning the death that they believe was caused by hospital negligence. The hospital and doctors maintain that they acted appropriately, but two of the doctors agreed to pay the suffering victims $4.5 million for the trauma that they had to face.

Hospital negligence occurs when a doctor, nurse, lab technician or another hospital staff worker fails to provide necessary care in the way that any rational doctor would. For example, if another doctor would have done the scan on this woman's chest when she arrived at the hospital, then this could prove that the doctors at Massachusetts General were negligent.

If you want to learn more, don't hesitate to contact a lawyer today. A medical malpractice attorney in your city may be able to investigate your case and determine how to best secure the assistance that you deserve. You need to call immediately if you hope to get financial damages for an attorney's foolishness or negligence. Let a confident and hardworking medical malpractice lawyer fight for you today and provide you with the assistance that you deserve in your case!