QUESTION
Looking for appropriate med mal lawyer
Asked on Jan 12th, 2024 on Medical Malpractice - New York
More details to this question:
Had hammertoe surgery on right foot 9/21. In follow up appts, I inquired as to why I couldn’t raise the two toes on the right side of my foot. The doctor blamed it on swelling at more than one appointment, never telling me he did a procedure on that side of my foot. I got a second opinion December 2022. It was during that appt that I learned about the procedure done on the right side of my foot that the first doctor did. The first doctor never told me he did anything on that side of my foot, kept blaming the inability to raise those toes on swelling. The second opinion doctor also told me the damage on the right side of my foot cannot be reversed but needs to redo the hammertoe surgery and a bunionectomy, which has also failed as a result of unsuccessful surgery. I have constant pain in my right foot, which seems to be getting worse and I don’t know why. I don’t understand why the first doctor that performed my hammertoe surgery even was on the right side of my foot. I need help
1 ANSWER
Civil Rights Law Attorney serving Rockville Centre, NY
Partner at
Lori Nevias, Attorney at Law
1 Award
First of all, keep in mind that the statute of limitations to file a medical malpractice action is 2 1/2 years, so if the surgery was in Sept 2021, the SOL to file a lawsuit expires in March unless you obtained follow-up treatment from the same doctor for the same condition, in which case it is extended for the length of the treatment. Second, the only way to prove medical malpractice is with testimony from a doctor in the same field that 1-but for the actions of the surgeon in question, you wouldn't have your injury, and that 2-your injury is permanent. In order to determine whether you have a viable medical malpractice case for the hammertoe surgery, your records need to be reviewed and opinion obtained from a foot surgeon. For your lack of informed consent claim for the right-side surgery, the same rationale applies, with the added caveat that you must prove that had you been informed of the condition requiring surgery, it would've been reasonable to refuse the surgery. A medical malpractice attorney interested in your case will normally obtain the necessary review, but it sounds as though your second opinion doctor may have already confirmed that you have a case.
Answered on Jan 22nd, 2024 at 3:49 PM