QUESTION
Cervical surgery 10 weeks ago... RLN (nerve) damaged in neck. Can''t speak, aspirate easily, can''t swallow well.
Asked on Jul 11th, 2012 on Medical Malpractice - Alabama
More details to this question:
Cervical double fusion done on neck 10 weeks ago. Surgeon damaged recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) which paralyzed my vocal cord... making it difficult to swallow, making it easy to aspirate... and making me unable to speak at all. I must whisper. Surgeon didnt mention this as a possible side effect. He didnt have me sign anything telling me of this possibility. The ENT says I may get my voice back but may not. If not, I will need further surgery to relocate my paralyzed vocal cord. This has taken a tole on my personal life and has strained my work... as I need my voice to function well in my position as a director over a large department. Do I have a case?
1 ANSWER
I am sorry to hear about this. I think you should start contacting local medical malpractice attorneys in your area. You should also go ahead and request your medical records from this procedure and any follow-up visits or treatments related to this procedure. Also, you should consider getting an opinion from another doctor about how/why this happened and if they think it can be repaired. These cases are very difficult and that is because most state laws make it difficult to sue a doctor or other health-care provider. But, they are not impossible so you should take these steps and start trying to get a consultation with an attorney in your area (most are free). The attorney will probably want to review the medical records. These cases are very fact-specific so I can't give you further information without all the facts and records. I hope this information helps. Best of luck.
NOTE: This response is general in nature and should not be considered legal advice. No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this information.
Answered on Jul 12th, 2012 at 10:04 AM