Do I have any legal options
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Do I have any legal options
I had a double bunion surgery on my R foot in June 2016. Since the original surgery, I had issues. First, I was experiencing pain on the surgery sites. Secondly, there was numbness and discomfort on the top of my foot and on the ball of my foot. The ball of my foot feels like I have a wadded up sock underneath it all the time, even bare foot. The surgery site pain continued, the surgeon removed the pin and screws in June 2017. I still experience foot pain in the surgery site, the numbness and discomfort are still present. Is there any recourse? I live in WA ST.
Asked on May 21, 2018 under Malpractice Law, Washington
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
IF the surgery was done carelessly--that is, the surgeon or surgical team did not provide care that meets current accepted medical standards--you would very possibly have a malpractice suit for "pain and suffering" for the life impairment you have experienced and also for any additional medical cost(s) you incur to correct or reduce the problem (and possibly for lost wages or earning potential, if this has caused you to miss work). But the issue is, the surgeon, etc. must have done something wrong--the mere fact that you had a bad outcome does not make them liable. The law accepts that medicine is as much an art as a science and that sometimes the medical care provider does everything right, but the patient still has a bad outcome or result. When the provider provided good medical care, they are not responsible for a bad outcome. So the first thing to do is to get some sense (e.g. from another doctor you do to for treatment or a consultation) as to *why* this happened and if there is reason to think the first surgeon or his/her team did something wrong.
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