Law-Forums.org

[bret11]

I had open heart surgery three months ago to replace heart valves and the doctor left flesh underneath the flaps of the valve he placed in my aorta so about two weeks later I had to undergo another surgery.He removed the flesh and also put a smaller valve in but I could not recover from this surgery.I have severe edema now and spent two weeks in intensive care and also had kidney failure.Now,I can only walk three or four feet and I am totally out of breath and have to stop and rest and I feel like I have run a mile nonstop.I am miserable especially since the edema is causing me extreme pain in my legs .I was not like this after the first surgery.I am on a lot of medication but was not before.I also have to wear a fanny pack with liquid heart medicine and a pump pumping it into me through a I.V.pickline until I can get a heart transplant IF I can get one. They won't even put me on the list til I have a way to pay for the operation so I have applied for disability in hopes of getting a medical card that will help pay for the surgery.The doctor told me all he can do is try to keep me alive until I can get a heart IF the medical board approves me.To say I am upset about all of this is an understatement.What should I do ? What CAN I do ?

[nickson]

While I often feel for doctors in the things that they are filed against for, this is simply the type of thing that malpractice suits are designed for. Fahion4 thinks that intentions and ultimate results are the only thing that matter, but obviously EVERY doctor has good intentions. From what you said, clearly this doctor made a mistake in your surgery which has had drastic effects on your health thereafter, and should therefore be held accountable. I'm not saying he's even a bad doctor, but he did make a mistake and this is what happens. That's why every doctor, good or bad, has malpractice insurance.

That being said, don't attack this issue on your own. Get a lawyer and let them carry ALL the weight.

Best of luck.

[lorimar]

no offence but u should be thankful cuz the doc saved ur life

[lawly1]

This is an extremely complicated question. I know this won't necessarily help, but I wouldn't sue the doctor. Everything was done to try and help you. And even though things didn't turn out well, I don't think he was trying to harm you. Everyone makes mistakes, even surgeons. Sometimes you do everything right and the patient still has a bad outcome. We can't control everything. If you file a lawsuit, you need to find an attorney that will take your case. If it isn't an open and shut case, you will have to pay the attorney out of pocket. Once you file, it will take years to get through the courts depending on how aggressive the doctor's malpractice insurance, or the doctor wants to be. Discovery can take years. Every time a motion is filed it takes months for the opposite party to counter. Another big factor is the fact that the insurance company has much deeper pockets than you do. The odds are that you won't win.

Sorry, I was at work and didn't finish my response. Anyway what I am trying to get at is this. You have a bad outcome. Nothing you do is going to reverse that. Even if you are fortunate enough to receive a transplant you will be very limited in what you can do. there is no guarantee that you will not reject the donor heart so that after all that time and expense you wind up in the same or worse condition. You are not the best surgical candidate from what I can tell. Basically what i am trying to say is this. we all have a limited time on this earth. Yours was being used up and an effort was made to extend it. It didn't work, fault or no fault. Now you have a set time remaining. How do you choose to use your remaining time? I know what happened to you sucks majorly, but do you want to spend the time you have left being a bitter resentful person? If I knew I was going to die in a year I would get my affairs in order and try to enjoy the precious life as much as possible. I really wish you the best of luck. May God bless you.