QUESTION
I would like to find out if my husband has a legitimate reason to file a malpractice suit against his primary care physician.
Asked on Aug 29th, 2012 on Medical Malpractice - Pennsylvania
More details to this question:
My husband was diagnosed in June of 2012 with liver cancer. Two masses. He also has hepatitis, which his primary care physician knew about yet did nothing to treat. He has had hepatitis for at least ten years. Even though we had the insurance to cover any treatment, none was suggested. Now that he is undergoing treatment for cancer the untreated hepatitis is proving to be a problem insofar as how effective treatment will be. We feel this issue should have been addressed long ago and may cause any treatment he now receives for the cancer to be difficult and/or ineffective. In any case we feel this should have been treated as soon as it was diagnosed. When we asked the doctor why nothing had been done about it, he said "Well, I really can't say, it looks like someone dropped the ball on this one." Then he shook my husbands' hand, hugged him, said "Sorry-this is a rough one" and told him to make a will and transfer the car title to me and get his affairs in order. Does he have a case?
1 ANSWER
Catastrophic Injury Attorney serving Roseland, NJ
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John J. Ratkowitz
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While the failure to treat hepatitis seems inexplicable, the questions are going to be (A) whether the outcome of treatment for hepatitis would have resulted in a better present day liver function for your husband and (B) whether the compromised treatment for the liver cancer due to the failure to treat hepatitis would have resulted in a different outcome. A sub issue is what is your husband's prognosis is relative to the liver cancer itself. These are all difficult questions that will require an attorney to review medical records as well as the pertinent literature to be in a position to ascertain whether you have a financially viable case.
If you want to investigate your case further, 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.
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 expect when filing a medical malpractice case.
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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 Skype: john_ratkowitz Web: www.starrgern.com.
Answered on Aug 29th, 2012 at 10:08 AM