What's the best way to obtain medical records of a deceased relative without Power of Attorney?

[Odesseiron]

BG, I'm in need of some assistance. I can put this on Reddit as well, but I have no idea which subreddit to list it on. This board has a lot of people that have been through a lot of different shit. Sorry if this is a little disjointed and long, I'm wiped out and my brain isn't braining properly these last few days.

A little backstory. This past week, my grandma passed away. Probably the hardest few days of my life that I've faced as well as most of the family. We were super close to her. If it wasn't for her I'd probably not gotten into gaming. She'll be very missed. Anyway, we're past the hard part at least. My mom and I as well as my uncle have some questions about obtaining her records because we suspect something very wrong.

So my grandmother was in and out of the hospital since late July. First we were told it was acute bronchitis, then COPD. She had been problems breathing, severe coughing fits, laryngitis, weight loss, loss of appetite, all the stuff associated with lung cancer.

2 weeks ago, we got a call from my aunt in Florida that my grandma went to the hospital again and she was very concerned. My mom and 2 uncles went down there the next day. Sure enough, they had her diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, very late, without anything they could do. So my relatives stayed down there for the week and administered hospice care with 2 nurses in her home. Thankfully she went quick and without pain.

When my mom was going through all of the medical records, every single thing in writing said COPD. Nothing about cancer or whatever. She had x-rays done previously, and other blood work, so how wasn't this caught? A mass like that doesn't appear like that over night. I'm sure are a variety of reasons, but that's not the important question at the moment.

My grandmother wrote a statement giving my mom decisions/PoA for her in front of my 2 relatives and the 2 hospice nurses. Unfortunately they couldn't get a notary to come to the house, so that probably limits things. We all want the medical records, but without a real PoA, is there anything that can be done? Or are we fucked?

The doctors that were taking care of her were not the best. We want to make sure if there was something overlooked, that those people do not make the same mistakes again.

Thanks all.

[Sonomaa]

honestly youll have to get a lawyer I believe. The medical records rights should pass to the next of kin though, curious why they didnt do anything about it though

[FNH]

You will likely spend a lot of money to get little, if any, satisfaction.

[Odesseiron]

Honestly, it was my grandmother that wanted my mom/uncle to go after them. Towards her last visit she didn't trust the Doctor anymore, and just wanted to make sure that whatever they misdiagnosed/whatever didn't happen to another family. I'm not sure what kind of hoops they'll have to jump through now.

[FNH]

I'd say speak with an attorney that specializes in medical lawsuits and see what they think. But having had a grandparent pass away from complications from COPD, I'm not so sure the doctor was malicious in missing the lung cancer. Especially if the mass grew rapidly between visits, but you'll have to wait to see how often she was xrayed.

reading this might help understand why it could be missed:
http://www.everydayhealth.com/copd/t...ng-cancer.aspx
http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/l/lung_cancer/misdiag.htm

[BaneTheBrawler]

I'm sorry for your loss. Your grandma sounds like she was a nice lady.


Beyond "talk to an attorney" i guess you can try just asking the hospital (play it off as curiosity or insurance or something idk).

[Odesseiron]

I'd say speak with an attorney that specializes in medical lawsuits and see what they think. But having had a grandparent pass away from complications from COPD, I'm not so sure the doctor was malicious in missing the lung cancer. Especially if the mass grew rapidly between visits, but you'll have to wait to see how often she was xrayed.

reading this might help understand why it could be missed:
http://www.everydayhealth.com/copd/t...ng-cancer.aspx
http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/l/lung_cancer/misdiag.htm

Oh definitely. This has crossed my mind more than once. She didn't ignore this though, but yeah I know how quickly these things can spread. I'm more curious than anything.

I'm sorry for your loss. Your grandma sounds like she was a nice lady.

Thanks! Honestly I know everyone says this about someone in their family, but she truly was unlike anyone I've known. She never wanted to be a burden on anyone and would give you the jacket off her back to keep you warm. She welcomed complete strangers (ie. internet friends of mine and friends of my cousin) stay in her house when we took a trip down there and adopted them as honorary grandkids. You could talk to her like you could with an old friend. Profanity and all. She'd curse right there with you. It's not every day a 12 year old comes home and has to ask their mom what a douchebag was to ask where I heard it and already knowing the answer (me, many years ago). She used to game a mean Mario and Mickey games. Spectacular woman. Will truly be missed.

[Prim]

I can't comment much on the lawyer stuff, but I wish you best of luck getting that sorted out. I just wanted to mention that lung cancer is a real sonofabitch. Of course all cancer is horrible, but lung cancer is among the worst for "surprise Stage 4!" I've been active in the lung cancer community for the past 6 years or so (my wife's father died from it), and it's terrifying how many stories I've heard where it was misdiagnosed for YEARS. It's by far the norm. People complain of coughs, tightness in the chest, and even simple backache, see a bazillion doctors and specialists, and nobody even thinks lung cancer until it's too late. X-Rays almost never catch it until it's Stage 4, so there's a big push now to get doctors to do more CT scans, which does show up earlier.
Really sorry about your loss. If you want any lung cancer support info, PM me. I'd be happy to send you some links.