if surgical error left me with a lifelong condition, what are my options?
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if surgical error left me with a lifelong condition, what are my options?
I had my bladder nicked during hysterectomy which was repaired immediately. I was told before surgery that this was a risk and I accepted it. Months later, after recurrent UTI’s and kidney infections, about 8 so far, my urologist did a cystoscopy and has found out I now have interstitial cystitis which he says is directly linked to the bladder injury. This is something I will
have the rest of my life. I never had bladder problems before the hysterectomy. I know I was informed of the risk of bladder injury but I was never informed about the possibility of having a life long debilitating disease because of it. Do I have a case or do I have to just suffer the rest of my life?
Asked on May 9, 2016 under Malpractice Law, Massachusetts
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
It is possible that this was malpractice, if it was a common-enough risk that you should have been warned of it (doctors don't need to warn of all risks, just the ones that have some reasonable probability of occuring or happening) and/or if it it occured due to some carelessness on the part of the surgeon in how the procedure was done. Based on what you write, there is a reasonable chance that this may have been malpractice; therefore, a good idea would be to consult with a medical malpractice attorney (many of whom provide a free initial consultation to evalute cases; you can ask about this before making the appointment) in order to see how strong your case is and what it might be worth. If it seems worthwhile to go further on this matter, the attorney can guide you in getting evaluated by another doctor, which is something that would need to be done to proceed (to bring a malpractice case, you need a doctor to testify as to the fact that this was malpractice).
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