QUESTION

Do I have a medical malpractice lawsuit against my son's doctor?

Asked on Nov 25th, 2013 on Medical Malpractice - South Carolina
More details to this question:
Someone put an eraser in my son's ear, I took him to a pediatric care facility. The doctor attempted to get it out with some tweezers, but was unsuccessful, so she used something like a scraper. She ended up scraped the inner ear causing it to bleed heavily. After 3 visits to an ENT, they had to surgically remove it because his ear was so inflamed he couldn't deal with the pain of them trying to get it out. This was about 2 months ago, and he still has pain because it still has a scar in his ear.
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1 ANSWER

Catastrophic Injury Attorney serving Roseland, NJ at John J. Ratkowitz
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I am not sure how you are going to prove that the problem with the eraser was due to the pediatrician's attempt to remove it rather than the whatever occurred to lodge it in there in the first place. The fact that it took three visits to an ENT and a subsequent surgery to deal with the problem suggests that it was a difficult problem. Finally, even assuming you can somehow prove that your pediatrician exacerbated the problem, if the eraser has been removed and your son has suffered no permanent harm, you probably do not have a financially viable case. This is explained in the articels linked below.  If you want to investigate a malpractice case, you should contact a local medical malpractice attorney (one in your state).  They take these cases on a contingency basis which means you only have to pay if you succeed.  Additionally, initial consultations are usually free. You can use the "Find a Lawyer" service through this website to research medical malpractice attorneys.  Then, visit each attorney's website and look for a firm that has a record of successful verdicts,  ideally with experience in cases that involve your medical issue. If you are unable to find a lawyer who meets these qualifications within your state, sometimes you may contact an out of state lawyer who can refer you to a qualified attorney in your state while providing support related to the issues of medicine. Below are some articles you may find helpful.  They are written for a New Jersey audience (where I practice) but the ideas discussed in these articles usually apply in most other jurisdictions as well. Click here for an article that discusses the three main questions I ask when deciding whether to investigate a potential medical malpractice case. This discusses the issue of financial viability. Click here for an article that explains what you can and should expect when pursuing a medical malpractice case. Click here, here  and here for more information about me. Click here for summaries of some of the cases that I have litigated. Click here to review articles that I have published. Since I am a lawyer, I need to advise you of the following when I communicate with you: Please note that by attempting to answer your question, I am not acting as your attorney. I will do nothing further to protect or preserve your interests in the absence of any additional discussion with you about this matter. John Ratkowitz, Esq. Starr, Gern, Davison & Rubin, P.C. 105 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland, NJ 07068 Office: (973) 830-8441 Cell: (732) 616-6278 Fax: (973) 226-0031 Email: jratkowitz@starrgern.com  Click here for my website. 
Answered on Nov 25th, 2013 at 7:23 PM

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