QUESTION
Do I have a medical malpractice case?
Asked on Sep 26th, 2012 on Medical Malpractice - North Carolina
More details to this question:
My daughter was raped on 9/8/12 around midnight. We found out about it on 9/11/12 we called police and took her to the ER. The doctor was not going to do a pelvic but I told him I wanted one done, so he done one. He did not do any testing for STD's or HIV, all he did was a preg. test but told us it was too soon to tell that I needed to take her to her regular doctor and have one done later. He also told my daughter that it was basically her fault that it happened. He also did not give her the morning after because he said it was too late to give it. When we took her to her regular doctor, she asked if they had gave her the morning after pill, I told her that they had not given it too her because they said it was too late. She stated that it was not too late to give it to her, that it can be given up to 5 days after the attack at the time it had only been 3 days. Her doctor also tested her for HIV, and STD's. She had a positive for Chlamydia.
1 ANSWER
I am very sorry to hear about this. While the doctors behaviors, treatment and actions were certainly not okay, I do not know if this amounts to medical malpractice that you would be able to pursue in Court. The reason is because of the lack of monetary damages. Medical Malpractice cases are very hard to prove and this is because there are a lot of restrictions and requirements that are mandated by state laws. Expert witnesses are required and they are expensive and time consuming to pursue. As a result, the monetary damages as a result of the doctor's alleged malpractice must be very high. While, here, although the doctor's treatment likely fell below the standard of care, it does not seem that your daughter has high monetary damages as a result of such. Based on the above facts you provided, it seems the results are the same and luckily, your daughter was not pregnant as a result of the rape. This is something else to consider - would the outcome have been any different if the doctor at the hospital would have provided the treatment you requested and desired. Here (once again on the facts you provided) it does not seem that the outcome would have changed. However, you are welcome and encouraged to call other attorneys in your local area to see if you can find someone with another option or different advice. At the least, I highly recommend you file a formal complaint with the North CArolina Medical Board. Check out the link here for more information. It also provides that you can file a complaint online: http://imp.ncmedboard.org/consumer_resources/complaint_process/ I am really sorry to hear about your daughter's rape and resulting situation and the lack of treatment she received. I hope this response 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 response.
Answered on Sep 26th, 2012 at 5:51 PM