Bleed Out (film)
HBO feature documentary film
Bleed Out is a 2018 HBO feature documentary film that explores how an American family deals with the effects of medical malpractice. The film revolves around a ten-year journey, captured through archival footage, spy-cams, and interviews. Writer-director Steve Burrows reveals the ways his mother, Judie Burrows, was afflicted for the rest of her life due to a mistake during a partial hip surgery procedure.
Bleed Out premiered on HBO on December 17, 2018. The film was awarded as Best Feature Documentary by the Los Angeles Press Club in 2019, with judges acclaiming it "absolutely mind-blowing".
Synopsis
After a complicated hip replacement surgery which led Judie Burrows to fall into a coma which resulted in permanent brain damage in 2009, her son, Steve Burrows, sets out to investigate the truth behind the medical treatment that his mother received at the hospital. The documentary film takes place over a span of ten years. Each year highlights how a family deals with the effects of medical error and Steve's efforts to figure out the truth about the American healthcare system while trying to proceed with a malpractice lawsuit against the medical centers which were in charge of his mother. Throughout the film, Steve Burrows, who is also the director of the film, includes real footage, undercover spy-cam footage, interviews, and courtroom testimonies to share his mother's story and demonstrate what he believes are the institutional flaws of the American healthcare system.
Plot
Bleed Out begins by introducing Judie Burrows, the mother of the comedy director Steve Burrows, as an independent, globetrotting, retired school teacher who loved to travel.
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Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q95049873. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2018, 2019 and 2009.
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