Salt Lake City Medical Malpractice Attorney

Salt Lake City, Tooele and Price, Utah

“Janet” went to the hospital with an infection from a prior surgery. She became sicker in the hospital and eventually had to be sedated and intubated. This required the placement of a feeding tube down Janet’s throat.

Rather than have a trained nurse perform this difficult maneuver, the hospital allowed an inexperienced medical student to attempt to thread the tube down the throat and into the stomach.

The proper procedure is to then verify, through x-ray, that the tube is in the proper position before beginning to feed the patient through the tube. If this procedure had been followed in this case they would have learned that the tube never made it to the stomach. The tube was actually inserted into Janet’s lung and had even poked a hole through the lung.

Unfortunately, no one verified the position of the tube in Janet’s case and the feedings were commenced. For nearly 9 hours Janet was fed through a tube as her lungs and pleural space filled with the liquid. By the time the error was discovered Janet was in serious trouble.

The insult of the feeding tube and the surgery necessary to clean out her lungs cost Janet nearly half of her breathing capacity. She had to quit her job and now must carry an oxygen tank with her where ever she goes.

We were able to negotiate a settlement for Janet to help compensate her for the pain and suffering associated with her injuries as well as for the income she lost from never being able to work again.

If you or a loved one has been injured because a busy hospital allowed a medical student to perform the job of a trained health care professional, please call G. Eric Nielson and Associates. We can help.