QUESTION
My 9 year old son was cut on both sides of his arm with a cast saw in the ER department of our hospital. Would I have a case for malpractice?
Asked on Oct 11th, 2013 on Medical Malpractice - Ohio
More details to this question:
My son broke his arm while rollerskating on a Saturday, had a full arm cast put on that night at a Children's hosp out of town. On Monday, he had dangerous swelling under the cast which was causing numbness, tingling & pain. I took him to our local ER & they made a phone call to the Children's hosp who put the cast on & both agreed the cast needed cut to relieve the pressure. They took us to a room & several people were looking for the cast saw & couldn't find it. Eventually a lady found it & gave it to the dr. My son was scared & the dr. said the saw will not cut him. He started cutting the cast & my son (who rarely cries) burst out crying that the saw was cutting him. The dr. PROMISED him that it was not cutting him, it just feels hot. A lady was holding my son's arm while the dr kept cutting without regard to my son crying out in pain. 3 weeks later when the full arm cast was removed to put on a short cast, there was blood in the cast & scars & sores where the ER dr cut him
1 ANSWER
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John J. Ratkowitz
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It sounds like malpractice, but if no permanent damage was done and the scars are not too bad, there will be a question about whether the case is financially viable.
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 Oct 12th, 2013 at 11:16 AM