Do I have a legal case for medical malpractice?

[devdutta58]

My father recently had a stent put into his artery leading to the heart. The doctor performing this procedure confessed to my mother during a post procedure meeting that he may have done more harm than good. He put the stent in and then used a filter but, the filter caused the stent to collapse. Basically, rendering the stent useless and there is no other way to remove the stent of have it replaced because of a prior operation to his heart.

Do I have a legal case for medical malpractice?


Thank you

[achban]

No. Under absolutely no circumstances would YOU ever have a legal case for malpractice over a medical procedure performed on your father.

But if you are asking if your FATHER has a potential claim for medical malpractice the answer is probably not - but nobody can say for certain based on the teeny tiny amount of information you have provided.

Not getting the best outcome and/or not getting a good outcome does not mean a doctor has committed medical malpractice. Medical procedures are NEVER guaranteed. And I can guarantee that your father signed a whole bunch of forms before he went in for the surgery that acknowledged the surgery was not guaranteed to be successful and even acknowledged the possibility of death during the procedure or after the procedure.

To rise to the level of malpractice a doctor has to do something that no other doctor would have done. So if ANY OTHER doctor would have inserted the stent and then used a filter (which seems quite likely), then this doctor did not engage in an act of malpractice. And the fact this doctor freely informed your mother that the procedure failed and did more harm than good leads me to believe that this doctor is not at all concerned about being accused of malpractice. (Doctors who genuinely screw up generally go into CYA mode and don't admit or confess to any wrongdoing.)

[muata2]

No.
If everyone keeps suing, medical care will be even more ridiculously expensive. No procedure comes with a guarantee, and the doctor having said that is not an admission of failure. Not every surgery is automatically a life changer or successful.

[vaiveatoish]

Maybe.

It's free to ask a malpractice attorney. Call one in your area.