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Abbie
15-02-2009, 13:58
A Florida woman says she will sue Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center because they left part of a knife in her head after she was stabbed more than three years ago, news4jax.com reported Wednesday.

Attorney Chad Roberts said by looking at his client Edith McQueen’s x-ray, you can see the knife in her jaw bone.

“Somehow, some way, the knife was left in her head,” Roberts said of McQueen, who lives in Jacksonville. “She presented to the emergency room for treatment from the stab wounds to the head, and they were simply stitched up and Mrs. McQueen was sent home.”

The assailant attacked McQueen twice in a random incident in August 2005. McQueen’s spent the night at the hospital where she was listed in stable, but good condition.

“A simple x-ray is comparatively easy, inexpensive and accessible, and you would think that a stab wound would probably justify a $25 or $50 x-ray to make sure no foreign body, either dirt or gravel, or some foreign object, remained in the wound site, but apparently that didn’t happen,” Roberts told news4jax.com.

McQueen went back to the hospital complaining of headaches, so they scheduled her to have an MRI. That was when the knife was found.

“We will not discuss the particulars of any patient’s confidential health care services,” Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center said in a released statement.

Roberts said he has not yet spoken to the hospital about removing the knife, but he has plans to.

Perdita
15-02-2009, 14:06
OMG, how awful. The poor woman :eek:

di marco
16-02-2009, 15:52
omg thats awful! hospitals will do anything to save even the slightest bit of money!

Siobhan
16-02-2009, 15:55
it might be possible negligence but it might be that to take the knife out could have killed her.. we don't know

Katy
16-02-2009, 16:10
shes lucky to be a live if she was stabbed in the head, it is america though so it will be a lot easier for the woman to sue as opposed to being here. Especially against the medical profession, the UK courts will hardly ever award damages.

di marco
16-02-2009, 16:18
it might be possible negligence but it might be that to take the knife out could have killed her.. we don't know

if thats the reason then i understand, but surely they should have told her about it?

Abigail
16-02-2009, 20:23
^ Maybe they did and she wasn't listening. It should be detailed in her medical notes about after care advice given.

di marco
17-02-2009, 22:14
^ Maybe they did and she wasn't listening. It should be detailed in her medical notes about after care advice given.

maybe. but it sounds like they were surprised when they realised the knife was in there. as you said surely it should have been in her notes?

Abbie
18-02-2009, 15:06
At the end of the day youd be pretty shocked if this happened to you, either way