Sick and injured patients have no choice but to put their lives in the hands of medical professionals and trust that those tasked with their care will respond appropriately with a prompt, correct diagnosis and effective care. When a doctor or medical team fails to treat a patient with a level of care that meets the medical community’s high standards, it’s medical malpractice. Tragically, medical malpractice can cause the untimely death of a patient when they would have survived if only they’d had proper care.
Autopsies are a critical tool in proving medical malpractice. They provide an accurate, independent analysis of the cause of death, which can confirm whether medical negligence was involved. If you have lost a loved one under suspicious medical circumstances, a Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer can help guide you through arranging an autopsy and pursuing a wrongful death claim.
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How Autopsies Can Help Prove Medical Malpractice After a Death
Why Don’t Hospitals Perform Autopsies After an In-Hospital Death?
According to data shared by National Public Radio (NPR), hospitals once performed autopsies on more than half of patients who died in their care. This fundamental task was once considered the best way to learn more about the human body’s mechanisms, identify errors, and improve future treatment plans. Now, hospitals perform autopsies on only about five percent of patients who die in their care, and some hospitals no longer perform them at all. Experts warn that death certificates may not be as accurate as they once were. Today’s hospitals rarely perform autopsies due to the following:
- Since 1971, hospitals have no longer been legally obligated to perform a specific percentage of autopsies.
- Health insurance does not cover autopsies, so hospitals would have to absorb the expense.
- Today’s imaging technology has advanced to the point that hospitals no longer consider autopsies necessary.
- Hospitals may fear that an autopsy would reveal a diagnostic or treatment error that could open them up to liability.
NPR also warns that studies indicate as many as 25% of hospital deaths may be linked to diagnostic errors, but this alarming estimate remains unknown without autopsies. Autopsies are only required today when a death is suspicious or could reveal a public health threat. Hospitals typically decline to perform an autopsy, even when a death is unexpected or unusual.
How Does an Autopsy Prove Medical Malpractice?
A forensic pathologist performs an autopsy to determine the cause of death by carefully examining all aspects of the patient’s body and documenting the physical mechanisms that caused the death. A thorough autopsy is a much more reliable way to prove how and why a death occurred than the patient’s medical records. Records cannot transcribe every nuance of every interaction between providers and patients. In many cases, a significant portion of a patient’s record is completed after their death, when doctors and staff have a strong incentive to absolve themselves of responsibility for any errors or omissions. In other cases, the members of a patient’s care team may have conflicting opinions or findings on the patient’s cause of death.
An autopsy may reveal the patient’s cause of death was an avoidable error, such as one of the following categories of medical malpractice:
- Misdiagnosis
- Missed diagnosis
- Delayed diagnosis
- Surgical error or wrong-site/wrong-side/wrong-patient surgery
- Anesthesia error
- Failure to order the appropriate diagnostic tests
- Failure to accurately interpret diagnostic or imaging test results
- A medication mistake
- Inadequate post-surgical monitoring
- Failure to detect an infection
Without an autopsy proving the patient’s exact cause of death, the care team’s findings may be inaccurate, intentionally misleading, or subject to changes based on claims of new information or another doctor’s new interpretation of test results. An autopsy provides a final and typically irrefutable cause of death, including in fatalities that result from medical malpractice.
How Do I Arrange an Autopsy When I Suspect My Loved One Died of Medical Malpractice?
It’s difficult to focus and take purposeful action when you’re grieving a loved one. Still, the timing is critical when seeking an autopsy after a loved one’s death under the suspicion of medical malpractice. You can request an autopsy from the county medical examiner or coroner based on your suspicions, but they may or may not deny the request. If the medical examiner denies a request for an autopsy, you may arrange a private autopsy. A medical malpractice attorney has access to medical experts, including forensic pathologists, who perform autopsies.
A private autopsy often reveals more detailed information than that provided by a county coroner, since they typically only reveal the cause of death, but not what led to the death and whether or not it was preventable and occurred as the direct result of medical malpractice. In addition, an autopsy performed by the hospital may be suspect, due to the hospital’s financial incentive to clear itself and its providers of wrongdoing.
Private autopsies may cost up to $10,000, making them a significant expense for most families; however, a successful malpractice claim against the negligent doctor, hospital, or other provider can recover compensation for these and other costs related to the death.
A private autopsy report, together with other evidence, such as medical records, eyewitness statements, and medical imaging tests, helps to make the most compelling claim possible to prove medical malpractice caused the loved one’s wrongful death.
What Damages are Recoverable After a Medical Malpractice Death In Arizona?
A successful wrongful death claim for medical malpractice does not bring the loved one back or ease grief, but it addresses the resulting financial losses for the family and brings a sense of justice and financial accountability. Common damages recovered in these cases include the following:
- Reimbursement of medical expenses
- Autopsy, funeral, and burial costs
- Loss of the decedent’s income and benefits
- Loss of household services
- Compensation for emotional grief and anguish
- Compensation for additional non-economic damages, like the loss of a spouse’s companionship and consortium, or the loss of a parent’s guidance and support, or a child’s love and support
While it’s distressing to consider, it may not be too late to arrange a private autopsy even after interment if the loved one’s body was preserved. The statute of limitations on Arizona medical malpractice wrongful death claims is two years from the date of the death.
Can an Arizona Medical Malpractice Attorney Help Me?
It’s understandable to feel conflicted about the idea of an autopsy, particularly if time has passed since the loved one’s death and interment, or if religious and personal beliefs do not include autopsies. However, the burden of proof through a preponderance of the evidence in a medical malpractice case is on the claimant or plaintiff in the case. An autopsy may be the best way to provide compelling evidence to recover the compensation your family deserves.
Contact Knapp & Roberts to learn about your rights if you suspect medical malpractice caused your loved one’s death.