getting referral to a medical malpractice attorney

I talked to a attorney today over the phone about my leg, how it got injured, all the operations, physical therapy,pain,odd gate.

He said that he knows some in the state capital which is 30 minutes from my house.  So now I wait to hear from   them to see if they would take my case on a contingency basis.  I have no idea what percentage they would take.

I go to an independent ortho surgeon in March for an evaluation.  See if he agrees that my leg is messed up.

I am apprehensive over this whole thing.Have any of you done this?  I am going after the doc that put the total knee replacement in and the manufacturer of the knee.

Betsey

Betsey....I think you had mentioned this before and I don't remember seeing any type of recall on the exact type that you had put in as I thought it was a new one...

So you are sure that this one has a recall ongoing with the one you have?

And even then, As Susie know, I think to prove malpractice is pretty darn difficult as you have to prove that the Dr. did something that he absolutely know would cause you harm.

Obviously Susie knows much more about this but I would think there has to be an actual recall on the one that you have implanted and that as I said, the DR. chose to put this in anyway when there was known harm. Or that he did something wrong during the surgery that has caused injury to you.

Otherwise, just having ongoing pain is not going to be malpractice. They will also look to make sure that you attended every single PT session that they had set up for you to do as well as followed every single post-op recovery instructions.

I had two failed fusions before my 3rd one but that doesn't mean that the Dr. failed or that there was anything wrong with the titanium...

Not trying to be mean here as I hope you know me well enough on the boards by now...I'm just curious on what is the basis for your lawsuit is against the Dr. as I would hate for you to waste a lot of time and money on something that is very difficult even in the most perfect of circumstances with obvious harm. I was thinking that money was very tight for you all right now so that is why I'm just trying to brainstorm and find out more information...

How is your hubby feeling?

I too,have a failed knee replacement. It happens more then ppl realize and just as with fusions folks go into surgery expecting the best of outcomes and its not always a given. There are numerous reasons why and many times it has nothing to do with the actual hardware itself. Everyone heals different and reacts to foreign matter in our bodies different even though the manufactureres have gone great lengths ins assuring they use the best materials to prevent that.

The amount of injury and the condition of surrounding tissue plays a roe many times in the outcome of the replacement, I had multiple arthroscopies prior to my replacement with virtually no cartilidge left leaving bone on bone which had also been scraped over and over due to plica build-up. They didnt have alot to work with from the outset.

Like SB stated it is very hard to prove even going as far as saying that if something was intentionally done and it has to be intentional not a human error,it wont be blatantly recorded in your medical records.

The rule of prudence means that other surgeons with like age and experience,education and what not will determine whether the surgeon made a mistake or did anything they would not have done.

This is what the Attorneys will be looking for,can they find those 5 other surgeons that see a mistake somewhere in the pre-op ,post-op,actual surgery and is the manufacturer in some way liable,is there a recall,how many reports of similar symptoms are on file.

Anyway I wish you the best of luck and if someone takes the case be prepared for a very long process as insurance companies make sure they drag it as long as possible by doing whatever they can in the wa of delays.

I definitely have to agree with everyone else on this. Proving medical malpractice can be a very difficult thing to do. Laws, rules and guidelines differ from state to state, but the basics to prove malpractice are pretty much the same everywhere. You'll need an expert medical witness that will testify that the doctor/surgeon deviated from the standard of care that any other reasonable doctor/surgeon in your area would have - not an easy thing to do, as doctors don't really like to testify against other doctors! The 'standard of care' varies also. For example, a rural, country doctor/hospital will not be held up to the same 'standard of care' as would a doctor from a large medical institution with access to state-of-the-art equipment and testing. It also has to be proven that that deviation cause/contributed to permanent/significant injuries that will cause you life-long pain and suffering, limit your enjoyment of life, and limit your ability to work. Your health before the procedure will be considered, in other words, did your health pre-surgery have an effect on the outcome of the surgery? These, and so many more things are considered in a medical malpractice case. This was my sub-specialty when I was studying to be a paralegal. Like everyone else here, I just want to make sure that you are aware how difficult things might get for you, once you start pursuing this avenue. I for one prefer to know just how bad things could get, so I am always prepared and not easily disappointed! Good luck, whatever you decide!

There is only one atty fee involved, if an atty refers you to another, the one that handles the claim has to pay the referring atty out of his fees. It does not matter how many attys there are. I am not sure what you meant above.

Susie

Thank you everyone for your helpful input.  This week I find out if the referring attorney found an attorney that would be willing to take my case.

Our online family certainly has a wealth of information .  It is great!

My back hurts this morning up to an 8.  All caused by the way I walk.

Betsey

I knew it varied state to state and wow I thought My was horrible for taking 33.3 so I guess that's on the low end of the scale.

They use to not have caps either and to me that's ridiculous. How do you cap a value out on the loss of life or limb? Seems like just another way for insurance companies to win.

I know that there the max is the max,they cannot throw in plus costs,expenses,whatever. When they agree to sign on for the max that's all they can take an they have to pay any other Attys they use outta the max. Any other way an they could take on all kinds of consultants and you would get nothing.

It's sad when you can do a better job then they can isn't it?
Good luck on your case and it would be nice to see a win for someone other then the big money companies.

Vickie