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Elkhorn, WI

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Medical malpractice lawsuit against hospital for YouTube.com use

When patients in Wisconsin seek emergency care from a physician at a medical facility, they expect that he or she will have training from a medical school and not YouTube.com. Unfortunately, for one patient in another state, the physician that attempted to treat him sought knowledge from the popular website to learn how to perform a life-saving medical procedure. A medical malpractice lawsuit has been filed against the medical facility on behalf of the patient’s estate.

It was only a reported sore throat to led the man to seek the care of emergency room physicians at a nearby hospital. After examination, the man was treated with medicines and discharged. Just hours later, a suspected allergic reaction to the medical treatment he received led him back to the hospital.

The severity of the man’s reaction to the medicine necessitated the attempt of placing a breathing tube in his trachea in order to keep his airway open. The physician handling his case was unsuccessful with intubation and reportedly watched a YouTube.com video to learn how to perform a cricothyrotomy. The procedure would have allowed a breathing tube to go through the man’s throat, keeping oxygen flowing in his lungs. Sadly, the physician was unsuccessful, and the patient died. The physician was reported to the local police, and an investigation found evidence on his phone of his looking up how to do the procedure on YouTube.com.

Understandably, the family was grief stricken from the unnecessary loss of their loved one. They have sought the advice of a medical malpractice lawyer and have filed a lawsuit against the hospital. If negligence of the hospital and physician is formally established, the court may grant a monetary award for burial-related expenses and emotional loss. Medical malpractice attorneys in Wisconsin can advise families with similar cases of their litigation rights in a civil court.

Source: wncn.com, “Lawsuit: SC man died after doctor had to watch how-to surgery video on YouTube“, March 8, 2017

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