A loved one has had pain more or less for close to 20 years. She has a very limited diet and has close to monthly doctor visits. Her doctor has basicly poo poohed her and she has not tried to seek other opinions until recently. A new doctor found a medical error that showed up on an x ray that could only have been caused by a surgery done close to 20 years ago (see the commonality?). In this situation, would the hospital normally reach out to offer a settlement or would the patient need to sue? She’s not seeking to get rich quick off of this problem, but has paid quite a bit in medical bills through the years because of the mistake. No one close to her has any experience with this so I am reaching out for opinions.
It is better to consult an attorney in this situation rather than the internet.
She needs to hire an attorney who specializes in medical malpractice. She shouldn’t try to negotiate a settlement with the hospital herself, as they might want her to sign away rights to future compensation.
I agree that she should discuss this with a medical malpractice attorney. She can start by asking any attorney friends who the best plaintiff’s medical malpractice attorney in your state is and going from there. Generally, the fees are fairly standard and based on a contingency fee basis (she only pays if they recover and she pays a % of the recovery–better attorney can negotiate a MUCH better recovery for her). Most attorneys know who the better attorneys in town are, even if they are different specialty, such as estates rather than malpractice.
Malpractice attorney asap
I agree with all the above posters.
Be aware there may be a statute of limitations, so the sooner the better.
Yes, consulting with a great medical malpractice attorney in her state as soon as possible is very important. The time limit starts running from when she knew or SHOULD HAVE KNOWN about the issue.
Agreed she needs to seek a medical malpractice attorney. She may not need to sue, but perhaps there is a newer treatment that can alleviate some of the ongoing pain caused by the prior errors. A medical malpractice attorney is skilled to know the options, and how to best negotiate a fair resolution. Most people think of medical malpractice as “sue” happy, when in reality that is only one option, of last resort.
If she pretty much only went to her one regular doctor all this time, she may have never been aware that there could have been a different cause for her condition…
Your relative may very well be up against a statute of limitations issue that would prevent them from making a claim. The statutes vary from state to state .
But there may be a claim against the doctor she’s been seeing for 20 years that missed this. Or not. That’s why you talk to an attorney.
In addition to having statutes of limitations that begin to run from the date of discovery of malpractice, some states like mine have a “cap” statute of limitations (8 years here) for cases not resulting from fraud or foreign objects left inside a patient. Your relative needs to talk to a local attorney. One thing for sure - the hospital will not reach out to offer a free fix or any compensation.
Is there anything that can be done now to rectify the error so that your family member might be able to reduce her discomfort and live a better life?
OP here, another surgery is scheduled to remove the foreign object that was left in during her first surgery (which was done at a prominent hospital in another state). Hopefully that rectified a lot of the pain. The patient lives in a very, very rural community. Not sophisticated and definitely no friends who are lawyers. I believe she travels several hours for doctor visits already. I agree with everything you’ve all said and hope her kids can get her to at least consult an attorney.
Ummmm, no. Definitely no.
And it’ll be more than just saying this pain dates to xx. Does she have past and present documentation?
This brings up so many questions. Did she see the new xrays and is surgery sure to fix her pain? (The new doc isn’t just jumping, right?) Any 2nd opinion?
Sorry she’s been going through this. Yes, an attorney.
My father had something left inside after a surgery. When the doctor realized it (after several weeks of pain) he scheduled surgery for a couple weeks later.
When I heard the story from my dad (soon after the mistake was discovered but while waiting for surgery) I just about hit the roof. I told him to call the doctor back and tell him to get it corrected immediately or I’d be contacting an attorney. The doctor suddenly found time in his schedule to do the surgery the next day.
Anyway, agree with everyone else to contact an attorney.
Not just any attorney, she needs one who specializes in medical malpractice. That probably doesn’t mean the local area but that’s alright.
An attorney in the same state would be a good start. Good luck!
Medical malpractice statutes of limitation are almost always less than five years. Some states have the ‘discovery rule’ but not all, so her ability to proceed may be affected.