A vegetative state, a condition in which someone is awake but is unaware, can result from medical malpractice in several ways.
A vegetative state occurs when a person is awake but does not show any signs of awareness. In contrast, a coma is when a person is both unconscious and unaware. A person in a vegetative state gives no coherent response to anything going on around them or any changes in their environment. They may or may not react instinctively to certain stimuli, such as withdrawing their hand or arm in response to having an IV inserted.
Total paralysis is sometimes a feature of a vegetative state, but other times it is not. A person who is in a vegetative state but not paralyzed may blink their eyes, moan, grunt, cry, or gnash their teeth. However, they have no conscious awareness of their surroundings, no real cognitive function, and no ability to form rational thoughts.
Reasons a Person Goes Into a Vegetative State
A person may go into a vegetative state for a number of reasons. Most often, the condition results from severe brain damage. This damage may arise due to a traumatic brain injury or a medical event or condition that causes a sustained lack of oxygen to the brain.
A traumatic injury can cause swelling in the brain, leading to damage and lack of function. In a worst-case scenario, this can culminate in a vegetative state. When the brain is deprived of oxygen, cells begin to die off, and when they do, they do not regenerate the way damaged cells do in other parts of the body.
Medical Malpractice Can Lead to a Vegetative State
Some causes of vegetative states are unpredictable and beyond anyone’s control. Others are preventable and result from the negligence of one or more parties — often a health care professional. If medical malpractice caused someone you love to enter a vegetative state, you may have grounds for a malpractice lawsuit.
Living in a Vegetative State
A person in a vegetative state cannot live or function on their own and requires 24-hour skilled care. Not only does the patient need help with all daily living activities (e.g., eating, bathing, dressing), but they also need constant monitoring of their vital signs and other health markers. If an emergency should arise, they have no way to tell anyone or summon help.
Many doctors and researchers believe that the only true type of vegetative state is a permanent one. That is, if a person demonstrates behaviors indicative of a vegetative state but later recovers their awareness and cognitive function, they were not actually in a vegetative state to begin with.
Call 888-526-8947 Today for a Free Medical Malpractice Case Evaluation With a Member of the Newsome | Melton Team
The medical malpractice lawyers at Newsome | Melton want to help you recover damages if your loved one entered a vegetative state because of a health care provider’s negligence. We will go after them and hold them accountable. For a free consultation with a member of our dedicated staff, call 888-526-8947 today.
Vegetative State - Frequently Asked Questions

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported 3,362 deaths from alcohol or drug addiction treatment centers in 2015. More than 1.4 million people sought help through inpatient, outpatient, and residential treatment programs that year. It is abundantly clear that patients can die in treatment centers from opioid detoxification. Why Patients May Die in
Read More
There are typically four elements to determine if someone is the victim of medical negligence. You must prove all four to win a medical malpractice case. If you experience a bad outcome from a medical procedure or a health care provider makes a mistake, it is not automatically medical negligence. What Are the Four Elements of
Read MoreVegetative State - News Articles

During Samantha Alpert’s senior year at Livingston High School, she was informed by her doctors that she had a benign bone growth in her left leg called osteochondroma. Steven Robbins, her orthopedic surgeon, wanted to check for cancer and performed a biopsy on June 5, 2013. According to a medical malpractice lawsuit, filed on behalf
Read More
After Marlande Lazard moved from Haiti to Miami 26 years ago, she began traveling back to the Caribbean island on medical missions, determined to teach women there how to check themselves for breast cancer. So, four years ago when she felt a lump on her chest, she knew that she needed to go to the
Read More