QUESTION
Do I have a medical malpractice case?
Asked on Jun 24th, 2014 on Medical Malpractice - Colorado
More details to this question:
My daughter has been with the same pediatrician since birth. She has been treated for gross motor and speech delay since 18 months old. After speaking with a friend earlier this year I decided to point out a dimple on my daughter's back side that has been present since birth. After pointing this out to her pediatrician at her 3 year check up he ordered an ultrasound, which had to be switched to an MRI to check for tethered cord. She does in fact have a tethered cord and will be having surgical correction at the end of the week. This is likely the cause of her physical delays and she is showing some signs of urinary incontinence as a result as well. We will not know until a few months after surgery the extent of long term damage done to her nerves but at the least she has had 3 years worth of tension on her spinal cord that has caused her many physical limitations. This should have been checked for at birth since a sacral dimple is an identifying factor in tethered cord.
1 ANSWER
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To determine whether the care which your daughter received was negligent, a medical expert would need to review her medical records. The first question would be whether her pediatrician should have suspected tethered cord syndrome earlier and thus ordered the MRI after the first signs of delayed development - this question would need to be answered by a pediatrician.
The second question is what if any harm resulted from the delay in diagnosis. Her current care providers would be in the best position to answer the question.
If the standard of care for her pediatrician would have resulted in an earlier diagnosis and if the earlier treatment could have avoided significant harm now suffered by your daughter, you may wish to consider a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Answered on Jul 10th, 2014 at 7:02 AM