If a surgery was performed but the cause of the illness was later determined to be something else, what if anything should I do?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If a surgery was performed but the cause of the illness was later determined to be something else, what if anything should I do?
I went to the emergency room with lower abdomen pain and I had just found a few days before I was pregnant and I was afraid I was about to miss carry. They did an ultrasound and determined I was seven weeks pregnant and hospitalized me for the night, the next morning they preformed an appendix surgery. The doctor informed my husband my appendix wasn’t that bad and I still continued to have extreme lower abdomen pain. I went to see my gynecologist a few weeks later and I had miss carried because of a molar pregnancy. My HCG levels were extremely high and my gynecologist informed me he felt I may have a molar pregnancy. Later after the D&C it was proven that I did indeed have a molar pregnancy. I feel the appendix surgery was unnecessary and the misdiagnosis further harmed my health since the molar pregnancy was eating through my uterine wall and I still at this point cannot attempt to conceive. If the hospital would have determined I had a molar pregnancy the D&C could have been preformed and less damage would have occurred.
Asked on January 6, 2012 under Malpractice Law, Virginia
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
The issue could be as simple as medical malpractice or it could be that at that stage the hospital could not have determined that it was a molar pregnancy, You need to consult with a lawyer who specializes in medical malpractice and quite possibly someone who has had experience with litigating molar pregnancy issues or unnecessary appendectomy. The problem here is you will need to learn from experts through the litigation process whether or not the procedures used for diagnosis were not custom or practice or if the simple tests regarding the pregnancy needed to be performed before any surgery was conducted.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.