I want to know if I have a medical negligence case?
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I want to know if I have a medical negligence case?
About 14 months ago, I had of bicep shoulder surgery for a full tear and AC joint shoulder on my right shoulder. I was a week post-op and my bicep tore again. It was over the weekend so I went to the ER and I ended up getting another MRI performed on this shoulder and it showed that I had a full tear in my bicep. So I followed up with the same doctor’s assistant who did my surgery and he never review the MRI results and was very passive about my injury and told me to cooperate and just go to therapy. I explained to him that I could not go to therapy because I couldn’t move my arm and I was in alot of pain. I told him, what was read to me on the MRI report he still pass off the results and refused to review them and told me to call the surgeon when she came off vacation. During the next week I called about 4 or 5 times with no response from the surgeon no response from the assistant and never a follow-up appointment or any concerns about my injuries. So I went to a new doctor which by the time I went it was too late to save my biceps so I had to end up getting a second surgery and getting my bicep detached, it was unable to be saved and now I’m on a third surgery which is rotator cuff surgery on the same shoulder and I’m pretty sure that there was tears left there in my rotator cuff from the first surgery that was ignored. What can be done about this situation?
Asked on September 28, 2017 under Malpractice Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Medical malpractice is negligence. Negligence is the failure to exercise due care (that degree of care that a reasonable medical practitioner in the community would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm).
Prior to filing a lawsuit for negligence against the first doctor, it may be possible to settle the case with her malpractice insurance carrier. Obtain your medical bills, medical reports, and documentation of wage loss. Your claim filed with the malpractice insurance carrier should include those items including medical bills and medical reports from the subsequent doctors you have seen to provide evidence of the original doctor's negligence.
Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. The medical reports will document your medical condition and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering which is an amount in addition to the medical bills. Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.
If the case is settled with the first doctor's malpractice insurance carrier, NO lawsuit is filed.
If you are dissatisfied with the settlement offers, reject the settlement offers and file a lawsuit for negligence against the doctor.
If the case is NOT settled, your lawsuit must be filed prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.
PA has a two year statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit in a medical malpractice case. Since your initial surgery occurred 14 months ago, you want to file the lawsuit if the potential settlement procedure discussed above is taking too long and the statute of limitations is approaching.
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