by LookingForAnswers » Sat Mar 22, 2008 09:19 pm
Right after our son moved from Tucson, Arizona, to Washington state he was rear-ended by a hit & run street racer at 70-75 miles an hour. Both cars were totaled. The racer and two buddies jumped out of their car and fled the scene. Luckily, my son had only minor injuries. Since the accident, the police agencies are doing nothing but bouncing our son around from the Washington State Patrol to the Pierce County Sheriff's to the Puyallup Police Department. (I am married to a retired police officer and expected much more from them than that.) My son can't even get the insurance information from the owner of the car that hit him. The owner won't answer his phone or answer the door at his residence. Is there any other way to find out if this car is insured?...and if so, who it is insured by? The owner of the car told the police the car was stolen. Right! There is NO stolen car report filed. At this point, this hit & run driver, who could have seriously injured or even killed my son is getting away with it. I don't like this! Our son's insurance company took care of his medical bills through his uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage, but you can't get uninsured motorist coverage in Arizona (he still had his Arizona coverage), which would have covered his totaled car. I can't express how difficult it is to get a hit and run claim settled. The guy driving this car needs to be held responsible for his actions. Any kind of help or advice about ANY of this would be greatly appreciated.
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 08:13 am Post Subject: hit and run cant get compo for my son
my son was a victim of a hit and run he was took to hospital for two days given no head scan and sent home two weeks later he became ill i took him back to hospital he was rushed from coventry to birmingham childrens hospital itc where i was told he had melingitus of the brain he had a fractured skull and has lost his hearing on one side permantly why cant he get no compo?
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 06:40 pm Post Subject:
melingitus of the brain
I assume you mean 'meningitis"?
The fractured skull may or may not be related to the hit-and-run accident.
The meningitis is almost certainly unrelated to either, as it is usually due to an external infection caused by a bacterium or virus, not typically the result of any trauma.
has lost his hearing on one side permantly why cant he get no compo?
Compensation for what? Do you think medical malpractice was involved?
Almost anywhere in America these days, except perhaps in the smallest of rural country clinics where no x-ray machine may be available, any person who comes into an emergency room, especially if they end up being admitted to the hospital, whether for one or two days or two or three months, is going to have a series of skull x-rays taken, possibly a CT scan, or even an MRI to assist the physicians in determining whether or not an injury exists.
Why? Because no doctor wants the liability for missing something obvious that could result in further injury, disability, or death. X-rays are as much precautionary as diagnostic. I cannot imagine that your son, probably a young child, would spend two days in a hospital in America and not have one x-ray taken. What about other parts of his body that would have been struck by the auto? No x-rays at all? Very unusual, if true.
On what other basis would a person be admitted to a hospital? "We just want to keep an eye on him for a few days" disappeared as the reason for a hospital admission decades ago. Insurance companies don't want to pay for mere observation, and Medicaid won't either. There has to be a reason (called "medical necessity") to admit a person to the hospital these days.
Could an x-ray have missed a skull fracture in a small child? Absolutely. A small fracture could easily mimic one of the bone seams in the skull which has not fully closed yet. Is it malpractice to miss that? I don't think so. Is a CT or MRI scan a requirement? No. It is up to the professional judgment of the treating physician. Not every hospital has a CT scanner, most do not have MRI magnets. These are multimillion dollar diagnostic tools. But if it's available and warranted, the test is usually performed.
Could your son have fallen and hurt himself again in the two weeks following discharge from the hospital? Could he have been exposed to the virus causing his meningitis at the hospital he was admitted to? Of course, anything is possible. He could have also picked it up from one of his playmates in the neighborhood, too. And he could have fallen off a swing or slide in the park and fractured his skull.
If you believe that some fault lies with the initial hospitalization and medical care, then feel free to find an attorney who will take your case and see what happens. The burden of proof is yours.
I am very sorry for your son's current medical condition and any permanent hearing loss he may have suffered. But I also think you are on very thin ice trying to lay blame on the original treating hospital or physicians and nurses.
What has been done to try to locate the hit-and-run driver? That's who you and the police should be pursuing.
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