Malpractice?

[Maine-ah]

someone I work with, her mother had a hip replacement surgery. Doc put in a replacement that was too short by almost 2 inches. She now has to wear a corrective shoe to compensate for a short leg. They have contacted a dozen lawyers, even some of the ones you see on the tube. Nobody will touch it, they all say they can't prove the malpractice.

I say...wtf?

[wryter2000]

1. I work in medical malpractice

I'm not with a law firm. I don't really want to say anything that'll identify me, though.

If the lawyers are being consistent about not taking the case, there's probably some good reason. They should have explained to her in ways she can understand why she can't win. My best wild-ass guest is that it's a known complication. Does she still have her consent form? If she finds something that might cover her predicament, that would be the explanation. The other most common reason you can't make a case is if the doctor/hospital met "the standard of care," which means they did the procedure pretty much the way any reasonable doctor/hospital would have done it. Also, if it was an error on the part of the supplier of the prosthesis (mislabeling), she may be trying to sue the wrong entity.

Bottom line...the lawyers should have explained it to her better.

If she truly has no case, she may be able to get the doctor/hospital to compensate her somewhat as a gesture of good will. That might only be to cover the corrective shoes, etc., but it might be something to pursue. You probably wouldn't get pain and suffering, but you might get lost wages and other expenses.

[Maine-ah]

4. thankyou wryter

very helpfull information! :hi:

[wryter2000]

5. Glad to be of help. n/t

n/t

[MrCoffee]

2. If a dozen attorneys say no, will someone on the DU convince you yes?

[Maine-ah]

3. no, I guess I was looking for whether or not this was a common occurrence

and the previous poster answered that for me.

what crawled up your backside anyway? I was also hoping to help out a friend, whose elderly mother is in a lot of distress at the moment.

[wryter2000]

6. It's quite common, actually

What's sad is when the person finally finds an incompetent (or dishonest) lawyer who'll take the case, anyway. Often then, the person gets caught up a long and possibly costly procedure that gets them nothing in the end. It's much worse than not suing at all. There are plenty of those lawyers out there.

BTW, most hospitals will settle a case if they feel it has merit and the person isn't asking for an insane amount of money. Of the cases left over -- the ones that go to court -- the plaintiff wins in about 50% of the time. It's not an easy way to make money, no matter what the "media" suggest.

[Lifetimedem]

7. In some areas

Doctors are untouchable because you can not find a doctor to testify that it was malpractice.


Of course it is malpractice If no attorney will take it I would look outside your area ... a last resort would be small claims court . I would not let him get away with it