Numbness After Surgery

[Gail]

had work injury 12/07 when box fell from above and caught it right hand tore rotator cuff, was in surgery 4 hours is this normal?, then right lung partially collapsed from nerve block? have severe neck pain, and numbness swelling in right arm surgery was done 4/08. also woke up from surgery with numbness in both thighs, surgeon said he does not believe me about my legs but nurse said it maybe common since i am overweight and had laid flat for more than 6 hours. they have delayed the medical reports for surgery since 4/08 wont release to lawyer and my own doctor, question is have you heard of nerve pain in areas that had not been operated on, my numbness is burning, tingly, creepy crawly feeling with excessive itching, i have constant headaches in back of neck, swelling, color/temperature changes in skin, and aching in hip joints, neck, collar bone, stiffness in hands and elbow in right arm especially.  the workers comp surgeon spends 5 minutes with me and ignore my symptoms, i don't sleep but maybe 3 hours a night an this is not all at once.  i am a chef and cannot use right hand due to nerve pain to make a fist it burns and heightens pain, so i have been off work since surgery, but surgeon ignores my cries for help.  i feel insane, moody, depressed where i have NEVER been before, he rolls his eyes and just now agreed to emg nerve conduction study, dont have report yet but neuro said there is damage, lawyer says i need the burden of proof, but i feel like i am fighting a battle i cant win, i just want proper treatment.  is there anything you an suggest for me to do, i live in Missouri.  i have been trying to find anything i can to research symptoms.  i am just fatigued and in pain.. what can i do or suggest to get this surgeon to pay attention to me as i am stuck with him... thank you for any help you can be.

ANSWER: First: Get a new lawyer. His job is to establish 'burden of proof'. You do not do that. Is your lawyer the same one who handled the work comp?  Get a medical malpractice lawyer  NOW. Ask your Bar Association for help in this search. Talk to several before you choose one.

Second: Yes, you do have a malpractice case. Is this work comp doctor the one who did your surgery? Are you getting any help from work comp? money or payment for doctors? You need to be seen by some independent doctors, and when you find a malpractice lawyer, he should get some experts for you. You do have a nerve injury, and you may have got that because of the surgeon's carelessness, OR it could have been done by both that surgeon and the anaesthesiologist who did the nerve block. Burning pain points to nerve injury.

You must find a competent malpractice lawyer. If your local Bar Association is no help, then you might have to get some help from a regular lawyer who can search for a malpractice lawyer for you. He may charge for that, or he may work out something with the malpractice lawyer. But he has directories he can use in a search for a malpractice lawyer. Your medical records are OURS, not the doctor's or the hospital's. You have a legal right to get copies of those records(X-rays and MRIs scans. etc too)  You are not stuck with that work comp doctor. You can go to any doctor you choose. That work comp doctor works for the insurance company, but you have a right to find another doctor. Your malpractice lawyer can help you do that. These people are giving you the business and you need to get away from them.

I am uncertain about your thigh problems. They could be the result of being strapped to the operating table, from the nerve block,  (not too likely) or some other mechanism. But if it resulted from your shoulder surgery, it is part of the malpractice case.

Now, get started looking for a malpractixce lawyer. You do not have to advise anyone that you are doing this. But get started now.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

i get no money from workers comp they have stuck me on unpaid leave until i am released to full duty, this lawyer is same for workers comp, the workers comp doctor is the surgeon he is the only one they allow me to be seen by and they will pay for. workers comp only pays for doctors right now, lawyer made formal demand for ttd benefits to be returned but this is 4 weeks ago now,  so if i go to the doctor's office and ask for medical records, they have to give them to me, because i have signed 3 different releases for the ones from surgery so i can find out what has happened.  the malpractice lawyers, do you have to pay upfront? as i have no $ thanks to workers comp.. my workers comp lawyer said if i go to another doctor i pay for it and then that doctor would have to prove that the condition is connected not probably but it is.. no doubts.  should it take 4 weeks to get ttd benefits reinstated?

[Wolfric]

You do not have to pay a malpractice lawyer up front.

Get away from your work comp lawyer.  Stop trying to deal with the doctor or the hospital on your own. Let your malpractice lawyer handle all that stuff. The best thing for you to do now is to work on finding a malpractice lawyer. From everything you say I think you are being jerked around by liars and incompetents. Stop asking these people for help.

One thing you probably have not been told is important. That is, ALL costs from the original work comp injury are chargeable to the work comp insurance company. That means even the medical blunders have to be covered by the work comp insurance company. That is why they lie to you and stall on meeting their obligations to you. They know that they are in for high costs and they are trying to avoid paying. Do not trust even that lawyer to help you. Get away from all of those people. Get a malpractice lawyer/

I think what you need to do is to talk to a different lawyer. Go to your County Seat where more skilled lawyers can be found. Talk to one(you may have to pay him) and ask for his help in finding a malpractice lawyer. You need a big time lawyer who is used to fighting insurance companies.

Again: Stop trying to solve your own problems. You can't.