6 replies to this topic

[AxJust]

Hello all.

I am unsure as to if I actually qualify for a medical malpractice or negligence lawsuit. I am also unsure about talking with lawyers about this sort of thing, and before actually looking for a lawyer, I would like some advice.

2 years ago, before I was paralyzed, I was treated by an independent orthopedic for a stress fracture in L3. Things went unresolved and did not get any better, so we moved onto a hospital, for what we hoped, had answers. We specifically requested a spine specialist, yet the hospital assigned me to a athletic orthopedic. It was understandable, as stress fractures are normally in the larger bones and are common sports injuries, but I have never heard of having one in the spinal column, though of course, I am not a doctor nor an expert.

Before, while I was being treated by the orthopedic, they gave me a soft brace with a bit of support in my lower back. When I was finally treated at this hospital, they measured and fitted me for a full upper body TLSO.

Now, I spoke with my current doctor, and she does not believe that the TLSO was necessary, nor was it beneficial, as braces are only supposed to offer comfort from pain.

Needless to say, things did not get any better. Pain and muscle spasms started moving into my upper back, just below my shoulder blades, and they passed it off as my L3 stress fracture causing problems. While I was being treated at this hospital, I do not feel that they took me seriously, and did not look at where my pain was moving, only at my current injury. I even had a doctor fill in for my current at the time that told me, "You may just need to learn to live with the pain." At this point, I was barely able to walk and function without leaning on another person.

I pushed and pushed my doctor for more testing, but again, nothing came of it as they did not look further. I then requested to see an orthopedic or neurological surgeon, who looked at my scans for my stress fracture in L3 (4-5 months old at this point), and told me that I did not need surgery, as it would not fix anything. 6 days after speaking with this surgeon, I ended up in that specific hospital's ER presenting with paraplegia from the waist down. There was a lot of questions at the time, because my disk herniated for no apparent reason.

Should the doctors have looked at what I was presenting with, or is it just my imagination that I feel that they did not do everything they could have done?

I am unsure if it would be beneficial to pursue a lawsuit against this hospital and it's staff, or if I should just move on.

Advice?

[Tim13]

Talk to an attorney who offers free consultation, specializes in medical malpractice and works for contingency (no cost unless they win).

[DannyR]

I went through kinda the same thing...the dr had sent me for a carpal tunnel test because I was losing the use of my hands. He explained away the problems with my legs as diabetis...even after an MRI showed compression of the spinal cord. When I went for the carpal tunnel test it was done by a neurosurgeon who realised right away from the brusies I had from falling and the fact that I had to be wheeled in because I wasn't able to take more than a couple steps without falling that my situation was serious. She checked the MRI and admitted me to the hospital right then. I still thank my lucky stars for her because if this had gone for much longer things would have gotten a lot worse. I tried to sue and it's not as easy as you would think. Even though he had misdiagnosed me from the start he did send me to the neuro not for SCI or anything spinal cord related but he did it in a "timely manner." December 26,2008 was the first time I saw him and Feb. 10,2009 was my surgery. The only reason he did the MRI was because I told him if wasn't going to do something then I would find a dr. who would. The good news is ther a lot of attorneys out there who will take on your case with no money up front and their fee will come only if they win. They put up all the money to try your case so you are out nothing but time. It is worth looking into but that's only my opinion. What happened with me was they sent all the records to their specialist and he pretty much said my case wasn't winable. My understanding was you have to be able to prove some kind of neglegence...I guess incompetence doesn't figure in. Laws vary from state to state so the best thing is to get on the internet that's how I found a lawyer. I emailed a brief statement and they emailed back setting up an appointment. Good luck withever you decide.

[hannibal]

First Where do you live? You dont have much time in certain places to file a lawsuit. If you were gonna do something I would do it now. Second alot of states have a cap on how much money you can get for melpractice, we have george bush to thank for that.

[jscott92064]

Medical malpractice is hard because you have to have something to point to that was specifically below the standard of care. Meaning if the doctor or hospital was following standard protocol and things went wrong, then you may not have a case. It helps if you have a second opinion from a doctor who says things were not normal and this should not have happened. (Sometimes they will tell you and other times you just see it in their faces and you know. Don't mention possible lawsuit so they can be more open with you.)

Many attorneys will give you a free consultation. I would look for an attorney who is both a doctor and an attorney. I am pursuing a current case right now and after interviewing several attorneys, I felt the one with both the law and medical degrees was the right one for us. He was able to think on his feet and we seem to have a good case because of his medical knowledge.

In terms of what you can ask for, that depends on the state. Many states have a ridiculous cap on pain and suffering --here in California, it's $250,000 regardless of the injury - say paraplegia, a broken finger or even death. It's all the same which is bull.

However, you can ask for unlimited economic damages and unearned income - past or future and health care costs - past if you paid out already and future expected costs. But you have to back this up to meaning you have to have a reason for each economic damage you ask for. Say, an addition to your house to store all your medical equipment and supplies --that's considered reasonable. Or modifying your house.

I wish you luck if this is the path you wish to pursue and I am sorry this happened to you. An experienced attorney can advise you of your options.

[Zack]

Act fast! you don't have time to waste. You need a lawyer to hire Medical Experts to look over past treatments, and diagnosis' to determine if they believe Malpractice was a factor. Then testify in court to their findings if they in fact believe you were a victim of Malpractice.

Take hannibal Serious. Time & Caps are also a large factor!

[lonebobseytwin]

I just finished going through litigation. Mine wasn't a malpractice suit but the dynamics are the same.

firstly know it's going to be stressful, they are going to examine everything you say and do under a microscope at all time while this goes on. and it could take YEARS. mine took 2 which seemed forever. So make sure when you talk to your doctors you are very accurate and concise when you speak because they will write down everything you say and if you say anything causally they put that down too, and the context can be used against you at any time. I lived like I was being stalked by someone with a telephoto lens the whole time, it was stressful and oppressive.

Make sure you report any and all past injuries or events, because if you forget and they find it and bring it up and make you look uncredible,

Know that even your own lawyer is not your friend. he's working get the best out come he can.
make sure you keep tabs in EVERY expense your lawyer adds to the pile, make sure if they are spending money they run it by you personally because they can pile alot up over time and can end up taking over 75% of your settlement like they did in my case in expenses and preparing for court. It's not cool. and know that even if they say they'll only take 1/3, they will probably justify the 40% to take anyways. Be prepared for that.

If you have to sue for anything in a situation where it's the quality of your life, Know it will never be good enough, even if you win or settle. The amount still won't get you back what you lost, winning doesn't make you feel any better about it.

That's what I can tell you from my experience, know that it's going to require alot, but you should make them pay for the mistakes the knowingly make.