Knee Replacement

[Dagoberto]

My mom had a TKR 01/2008.  In 05/2008 she suddenly began feeling intense pain in her knee and contacted the orthepedic surgeon who performed the original knee replacement.  At the appointment the surgeon confirmed she had an infection in her knee and immediately scheduled surgery to remove the knee replacement and implant a "cement block" of antibiotics.  After the surgery she spent about 6 weeks on IV antibiotics; however, due to intense pain and excessive bleeding she was forced to enter a nursing home to get the best care.  The insurance refused to continue to pay for the nursing home because my mom refused to go to physical therapy due to the intense pain she was experiencing.  Finally, the orthopedic doctor and the infectious disease doctor decided her infection was cleared up enough to put in a another knee.  After her surgery I called and checked with the orthepedic surgeon to see how things went and he assured me things went well but that the healing process would be a lot longer because he had to replace a tendon he had severed when he took the first knee out.  He had NEVER mentioned he severed this tendon until AFTER he put the second knee in . Not to mention the fact he never informed anyone he was going to replace the severed tendon with a cadaver tendon.  My mom had spent the past six weeks in so much pain because the physical therapists were not aware of the situation with her tendon and were attempting to perform therapy on her she wasn't able to do. She is currently still in the healing process but is having a very difficult time. To make matters worse she has diabetes and the anesthesiologist questioned the orthepedic doctor's judgement when the second knee was put in.   She is very depressed and unable to enjoy her life because of the series of complications she has gone through.  I know there are a lot of factors in this case.  But looking at the misery this doctor has put our family in is very frustrating.

[Hardyn]

You need to see a malpractice lawyer now.

You have a lot of information. Apparently you have done a little sleuthing on your own. You probably have alerted everyone that you are going to file a lawsuit.  But don't worry about that. If these guys were going to make any changes, they have already.

What you have said here is common to MRSA infections, and you should have no trouble finding a good lawyer. MRSA is only a newly devised abbreviation to cover an infection by the old, vicious and common in-hospital infection, staphylococcus aureus. That bug has been antibiotic resistant since time began. As a matter of fact you probably can find one by Googling MRSA infections. You will find many class action cases ongoing and you should contact lawyers with these cases who are in your county or state. That will be the easiest way to get a lawyer. If you get a lawyer this way do not allow him to discard other causes of action you have discussed in your question. The insurance company that refused to pay for the skilled nursing facility is a likely target; a possible bad faith case is there. Insurance companies have no right to force a patient to do anything contrary to the patient's decision or safety. A patient has a right to refuse treatment of any kind, Insurance companies can not act as medical professionals; they are unlicensed. Also, you have a case against the manufacturer of the original knee apparatus, as well as a possible case against the provider of the cadaver tendon. You have a case against the hospital as well as the surgeon. And while these are often tossed out by judges these days, you have an 'informed consent' action here too. I doubt that your mother was told much of anything by her doctors or hospital employees, or given any choice in treatment.

Om second thought. If you talk to a couple of these MRSA lawyers who do not see the value of the other parts of your case, then search for a lawyer outside that group. You can't toss out any cause of action because you always run the chance of losing one action or more in trial. Malpractice cases are tough enough without just giving up on some because they are inconvenient or the lawyer doesn't like them.

Your mother's care illustrates treatment forced upon a patient by medical care providers, treatment that the patient has a right to refuse for any reason, and treatment that is not dicussed with the patient. Insist that your lawyer include the patient's right to refuse treatment in his arguments. Juries should understand that very well. A lawyer who is hostile and has an imagination ought to love fighting your mother's case, win or lose. Her case has a lot of stuff in it, unfortunately for her.