After a routine partial hip replacement operation leaves his mother in a coma with permanent brain damage, what starts as a son's video diary becomes a citizen's investigation into the future of American health care. Using undercover footage, court testimony, verité scenes shot over several years and interviews with people on all sides of the story, the film goes deep inside a flawed healthcare system. Part medical mystery and legal thriller, part investigative journey and meditation on family, this personal story is a cautionary tale.—ia

In 2009, comedian and filmmaker Steve Burrows' mother, Judie, an active and independent retired teacher, fell while riding her bike and was rushed to the hospital for hip surgery. After months of painful recovery and a second surgery in which she lost half her blood, the 69-year-old fell into a coma and suffered permanent brain damage. Questioning whether Judie received adequate care in surgery and in the hospital's "virtual" ICU unit, Burrows and his family eventually decided to sue for medical malpractice. BLEED OUT is his harrowing, eye-opening account of the ten years that followed - an endless cycle of medical bills, emergency-room visits and insurance-company red tape. What starts as a son's personal video diary becomes a citizen's investigation into the current state of American health care, in which Burrows discovers that medical error is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. BLEED OUT uses one family's story to underscore deep flaws within America's current healthcare system and highlights ways the problems could be fixed.—mb