QUESTION
Surgical Fracture - MIshandled in hospital ER, Wrong surgeon referred to by ER delaying surgery and causing patient to travel overseas for surgery
Asked on May 11th, 2013 on Medical Malpractice - North Carolina
More details to this question:
April 20th - My father fell during his evening walk, taken to ER. In ER he was x-rayed and the ER PA mentioned that he had multiple fractures of his patella (kneecap) that needs surgery. ER mentioned that this can be treated as 'outpatient' and referred to a surgeon at Spine and Neurosurgery practice (note this was a kneecap, orthopaedic trauma) April 22nd - Called Spine and Neurosurgery, got appointment for April 24th, 4 days after surgical fracture. In the meantime we obtained x-ray copy and sent it to trauma surgeon in home country and were told that this needs to be operated upon as soon as possible. During our appointment with Spine and Neurosurgery, PA was surprised about 2 things, firstly that ER let patient out like this and secondly that he was not referred to ortho surgeon. PA mentioned that ortho surgery is not his specialty and told us that he would help get appt with trauma surgeon, which was not till Apr 29th (9days). Had to take patient to home country for surgery.
1 ANSWER
Catastrophic Injury Attorney serving Roseland, NJ
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John J. Ratkowitz
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Clearly you received negligent care, but the question is whether the delay in diagnosis resulted in permanent harm. If it did not, then you probably do not have a financially viable case. The articles below explain this.
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 May 14th, 2013 at 2:40 PM