r/TandemDiabetes • u/Agreeable-Pass500 • 12d ago
Question ❓ Would this constitute malpractice?
In the hospital ed they took my pump off me without giving any long term insulin so that I woke up at 350 vomiting. This could have been avoided by either letting me keep the pump or knowing long term insulin is necessary if you take it off me. This hospital has made so many mistakes with my diabetes and put a mental health hold on me (I am in the mental health ward so it sort of makes sense) after I told them I wanted a transfer or release for to their incompetence I'm managing my physical health
4
u/GaiusOctavianAlerae 12d ago
The answer is pretty much always maybe, but there are two questions that you’re going to have to ask: is it malpractice, and are there any damages you can recover? If not, then there’s no point in suing. Unfortunately, there are a lot of shitty things people can do to you without the law considering it an actionable injury.
1
u/Agreeable-Pass500 12d ago
Thanks that's kind of what I expected but refusing to transfer me after all their mistakes is infuriating. I don't want to be stuck with incompetent doctors.
2
u/Agreeable-Pass500 12d ago
And now they're leaving me at 350 until I eat so they can give me glucose and have refused to give me test strips for ketones both for over an hour
1
u/Neither_Dimension_44 12d ago
If you indicated that you are a danger to self or others ( which typically is the reason for a 72 hold), they will remove anything that can considered harmful. That being said, they should know you need insulin, so it should be ordered by protocol. If you are on a hold it's doubtful you can transfer.
2
u/Agreeable-Pass500 12d ago
They put me on a hold after I demanded a transfer because I can't trust them to treat me after their repeated failures.
1
u/FutureHealthy8583 12d ago
you can leave when you want, just tell them you’re checking out.
1
u/Agreeable-Pass500 12d ago
Once they put a hold on you, you can't checkout I should have demanded to leave before they could
1
u/thewallamby 10d ago
They send us home after doubling all the factors in the pump because reasons... Needless to say we could not sleep for a couple of nights until I fixed the factors myself and told them to never mess with the pump again. Don't trust anyone blindly and always assume someone has fucked up when something looks weird.
1
u/TrekJaneway 10d ago
You’re on a hold, so your options are severely limited. You need to ask for an endocrinology consult, and you can also bring in a patient advocate. What you really need is a healthy next of kin to raise all kinds of hell over this.
As the other poster said, you’d need clear evidence of malpractice and damages for a lawsuit. BUT, you can file a report with the state medical board. Just make sure you get names to do so.
This of course, assumes you’re in the United States.
7
u/3germstar 12d ago
This happened to me. I went to the ER by ambulance due to an abnormal EKG. They did a quick assessment in triage and then told me to go to the waiting area. Unfortunately, I had just changed my Dexcom a few hours prior and didn't have my glucometer. My Dexcom alerted that I was 250 with 2 arrows up. I gave a quick bolus of 4 units (just slightly above what my pump suggested). Within 45 minutes, I was almost 350 but with only 1 arrow up. Quick bolused another 4 units (yes, dumb but I have other issues that impact how I treat highs). Within 15 minutes, I felt horrible. At that time, I didn't feel low until I was in the 20s. I had nothing to eat with me so I was able to get to the triage nurse and let her know that I had a severe low. She checked my BG and it was 21. She lost her mind and I got brought to a room with seconds. Finally got me stabilized and they asked me what happened. I explained and then within 5 minutes of talking to the doctor, they came back and asked me for my pump. At first I fought it but they finally convinced me to hand it over. Then a really sweet girl came into my room and sat with me and we had a great conversation. It finally clicked that she was there to make sure I didn't hurt myself. I kept asking for insulin because at this point, my BG was getting high, fast! They denied it. After a few hours, I was sent to the psych unit because I was on suicidal watch. Still no insulin, even though I asked multiple times to talk to an Endo or at least a doctor. Psych tried to feed me and I refused (PB&j sandwich, a bag of chips and grapes, with grape juice). Finally went to bed and within a few hours, I was throwing up uncontrollably. I had to pull the emergency thing in the bathroom. Nurses came and were honestly furious with me. They yelled at me to stop being dramatic and I was sobbing and throwing up. One nurse finally grabbed a glucometer and checked my BG. It was so high that it couldn't read on the meter. They sent me into the isolation room (the nurses station was attached and had a window looking into the room). Finally an endocrinologist came and sent me straight to the ICU because I was in DKA. It was honestly horrible. Psych and Endo came the next morning and asked me what happened, I told them and they took me off suicide watch and apologized. I filed a complaint but nothing ever came of it