Medical Malpractice

[pantherfan49]

BTW; a rude doctor isn't grounds for a lawsuit.

Right. But rude doctors get sued and not-so-rude doctors aren't as likely to get sued.

poo happens in the medical profession. Doctors make mistakes like the rest of us. But when we make a mistake, the collateral damage is usually minor. Not so with a doctor. Most patients understand that and when the doctor has been a thoughtful and considerate doctor that made a mistake, the patient is very understanding. When the doctor is a jack ass, the patient is more likely to not be so understanding.

[Darth Biscuit]

Take this for what its worth.

In my family we've had two separate doctors cause us to seek out the advice of an attorney in regards to pursuing malpractice claims. In both cases we've been told that unless you can prove absolute negligence on the part of the doctor or your willing to dump truckloads of cash into a case and outspend an insurance company just to prove the point, then don't bother.

By all means seek out the advice of an attorney but don't be surprised if they tell you you're out of luck.

My wife had her last wisdom tooth removed in 2007 by a dental surgeon and he cut one of the main nerves in her jaw... she reported the problems to him immediately after the procedure and he just said it was normal. Three weeks later, he referred her to the Dental School at Chapel Hill and the surgeon there flat out told us the first Dr screwed up. He should have seen that nerve and it should never have been damaged.

We consulted an attorney and were basically told the same thing Inmicus is saying... tough sh*t, we could pursue it, but the likelihood of a positive resolution was very low.

[g5jamz]

So hard to prove negligence in some of these cases. My wife goes out of her way to order extra tests to cover her behind because as a FNP she has an inferiority complex to doctors...fed by a lot of egos she's had to dealth with...to the point she gets asked if she orders too many tests.

There's a line between negligence and overdoing it that's controlled by liability concerns versus cost to the patient. Try giving good care with those factors looming over your head as well.

[Kitten Diver]

Look to who actually foots the bill for a doctor losing a lawsuit and you will have your answer for why it's so hard to win and why all of us including you will end up paying for a lawsuit in the end.

but best of luck on your recovery

[pantherfan49]

Most of the time if you are asking for just 20k or less, the insurance company will pay the check over to you without a fight. It costs a lot of money for the insurance companies to litigate.

However, the insurance companies don't want to lose in court and set a precedent as to future jury awards to a certain type of injury if that is a common injury. So they really have to fight like hell in every case or settle it out of court.

[Epistaxis]

My wife had her last wisdom tooth removed in 2007 by a dental surgeon and he cut one of the main nerves in her jaw... she reported the problems to him immediately after the procedure and he just said it was normal. Three weeks later, he referred her to the Dental School at Chapel Hill and the surgeon there flat out told us the first Dr screwed up. He should have seen that nerve and it should never have been damaged.

We consulted an attorney and were basically told the same thing Inmicus is saying... tough sh*t, we could pursue it, but the likelihood of a positive resolution was very low.

The real reason is the cost/benefit analysis.

Award would be relatively low, time spent still just as long.

One of the benefits of my job vs. my wife's job, for example.

[cookinwithgas]

And here I thought malpractice suits were so easy to do that it was going to cause all the doctors to quit.

[pantherfan49]

And here I thought malpractice suits were so easy to do that it was going to cause all the doctors to quit.

The largest cost associated with Med Mal is the overly risk-aversion that you see doctors undertaking. Getting sent to 15 specialists because a doctor wants to cover their ass isn't particularly cost effective. I don't know that med mal limits are going to fix that.

[Epistaxis]

It is variable from state to state.

Reimbursement also varies from state to state.

Thus the exodus from some to others.

[Darth Biscuit]

The real reason is the cost/benefit analysis.

Award would be relatively low, time spent still just as long.

One of the benefits of my job vs. my wife's job, for example.

Yeah, I know... and we weren't looking to like score on this guy... but it cost us over $10 grand to get it resolved with more surgery for her and she still has no feeling or taste in the left side of her mouth. We just wanted to recoup some of the expenses for this guys negligence in not getting her the help she needed in time. The Dr at Chapel Hill told us that if he had re-attached the nerve within 5 days, there was a much higher chance of it getting back to normal, but the original Dr didn't send her to Chapel Hill for three weeks.

[Epistaxis]

That sux man. I'm sorry.

It can happen, even to the best of us.

Even re-attachment is not 100%.

[Darth Biscuit]

That sux man. I'm sorry.

It can happen, even to the best of us.

Even re-attachment is not 100%.

Yeah, I mean she knew before having the tooth removed that nerve damage was a possibility. It's just that the Dr wasn't forthcoming in admitting what had happened and getting her some help with it.

They re-attached it at Chapel Hill, but he told us that the chance of it fixing it by that time was almost 0%.

[SOJA]

Best of luck in your recovery!

[Jackofalltrades]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

After seeing the surgeon today, talking with some people I don't see any benefit in pursuing it any further. I just can't see it being with the time and money for something I don't feel very strongly about.

I'm just going to chill, focus on my recovery and pray to the Lord above that some kind of job I can do becomes available.