QUESTION

medical malpractice or negligence?

Asked on Jun 13th, 2013 on Medical Malpractice - Maryland
More details to this question:
Nurse dropped my leg while I was giving birth and it snapped, I screamed "oh god" the doctor never had me seen. I could not walk or hold my newborn and over 6 months later have been in physical therapy with little to none improvements. The nurse also could not find the doctor prior to me pushing my baby out and told me to stop pushing until he came. He then rushed in and put his attire on with 5 or 10 minutes to spare, before she came out. He witnessed the nurse dropping my leg, but did not have me evaluated or the baby. Is this medical malpractice or negligence?
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1 ANSWER

Catastrophic Injury Attorney serving Roseland, NJ at John J. Ratkowitz
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Ordinarilly you would not expect a patient to suffer a debilitating leg injury during labor and delivery. I really don't know what injury you suffered, but if it is not permanent then you may not have a financially viable case.  Accepted standards of care do not require a physician to be present during the entire labor and delivery. If your injury was a result of short staffing and there were not enough nurses present, that is a different story.  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. 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  Skype: john_ratkowitz Click here for my website. 
Answered on Jun 14th, 2013 at 9:35 PM

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