Last September, at the René-Dubos hospital near Paris, France, a 54-year-old man had a medical misadventure. Vincent Eckhard went to the emergency room at around 10:30PM on a Friday evening. He was complaining of severe leg pain. He explained to Le Parisien magazine:
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My legs were swollen, my calves very hard. I couldn't walk, or even lean on my legs.
A serious medical error
After waiting until 5AM in the waiting room, the 54-year-old was placed in a bed, where he had to wait several more hours, before collapsing. Vincent Eckhard recalls:
At around 3:30 p.m. the next day, I fainted. I fainted. I couldn't get any air. My throat was closing up, I could feel it closing up.
Fortunately, he was revived by an injection. But the nightmare didn't end there.
Finally, the doctors sent the patient home, prescribing a simple tablet of paracetamol. It was at around 6PM, almost 24 hours after his admission to the emergency room, that the 54-year-old man left the hospital in a wheelchair, accompanied by his nephew. The doctor sent him away dismissively, as he explains:
She assured me that it was sciatica and that I'd be able to walk again with paracetamol. She also told me it was all an act.
The worst avoided
But the next day, his condition worsened. He could no longer walk, and his legs had turned purple. He went to another emergency room, where the staff told him that he was in fact suffering from a serious bilateral pulmonary embolism. These were blood clots blocking the circulation of his pulmonary arteries. Thanks to his treatment, albeit late, the 54-year-old was able to avoid the worst. He has lodged a complaint against the hospital for 'exposure to risk of death or mutilation by deliberate breach of a duty of care'.
This article has been translated from Gentside FR.
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Source used:
Le Parisien: Pontoise : renvoyé des urgences avec du Doliprane malgré une embolie, Vincent porte plainte contre l’hôpital
