QUESTION
is this a law suit? I broke my knee cap, had six surgeries.
Asked on Apr 03rd, 2012 on Medical Malpractice - Washington
More details to this question:
In about four months I had six surgeries the first surgery my Ortho Dr. sew the kneecap with stitches telling me the stitches were tightly together; two weeks later the stitches came a loose, the 2nd surgery he put wires in, less than a month they popped loose, 3rd time he put tiny screws this seems to work. However there was another issue I was having infections; my doctor take me back to surgery to clean out the wound two times. At this point I was put on antibiotic''s tons of it for months. He could not figure out where the infection was coming from, finally he sent me to a wound specialist; they found out there was a few tunnels in there where the infection was trying to find its way out. The wound Dr. had an MRI done, the infections was coming from the stitches that had been left in from the first surgery! The infection had been going on since the first surgery. Too make a long story short.
1 ANSWER
It is difficult to determine if one has a possible medical malpractice claim/suit without viewing the medical records. Thus, I would request all medical records from the time you broke your knee cap to present day from your doctor, all hospitals or clinics where you have had surgeries and from any other health care provider which has treated you in relation to this injury/infection. Most attorneys are going to want to view the medical records prior to determining whether to accept your potential case. This is because medical malpractice cases are very difficult to prove. Most state laws make it difficult to sue a doctor or other health care provider. There must be a breach in the standard of care. In order to prove that, an expert must be hired. This makes these cases also very expensive and time consuming. In sum, request the records and start trying to get consultations with personal injury/medical malpractice attorneys in your local area. Also, note that a statute of limitations will likely preclude you from filing suit after 3 years. A local lawyer in your area can also help you determine when that time period begins to run -- whether it is the date of the first surgery of the date you discovered the infection with the wound doctor. 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 Apr 04th, 2012 at 11:52 AM