My father walked in the hospital on Tuesday, had a paracentesis done Thursday AND friday and died on Saturday after complications from a paracentesis. They drained over 11 liters of fluid the first paracetnesis and they never would tell us how much they drained the second time. I was told by a medical friend that so much fluid being drained could lead to shock. I believe the doctors drained far too much fluid, which led to his blood pressure dropping, cardiac arrhythmia (d/t electrolyte imbalance) and bleeding out (d/t the loss of clotting factors).
The doctors drained far too much fluid way too fast and my dad died due to this. He was only 49 years old. Do we have any options regarding filing a medical malpractice suit against the hospital or the doctors responsible for his wrongful death?
Answer: (1)
You are correct in that drawing too large an amount of fluid can lead to a severe drop in blood pressure and shock, however this can be combatted by administering IV fluids. Depending on the specific actions of the medical professionals, there may or may not be a case of wrongful death due to the doctors negligence.
You will need to find out the exact procedure the doctors took, and have a third party medical professional establish whether or not negligent medical care was administered. You can consult a medical malpractice lawyer who will be able to have a medical professional investigate and determine if you have any legal options.
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Posted by Staff Writer on 21 Jan 2010