Q: My mom is a high risk patient & underwent a risky surgery due to misdiagnosis. The problem is back. Is this malpractice?
My mom is a high risk patient with a complicated health history. Just recently she had stents added to her legs for circulation and was told that she would be okay to drive the next day. She was in a car accident and had to be brought back into the hospital. The doctor gave advice to a patient who was on pain meds without someone competent present. After the accident, she had pains in her legs and stomach. Doctors ran initial test and found nothing. We asked that they run them again and this time they found that she has chronic pancreatitis BUT last year, after several visits to the hospital complaining of the same issue, a doctor stated that she would need certain organs removed to cease the pain. The problem never went away. We expressed this to the on call doctor and he said that the previous surgery was completely unnecessary and that the only solution to this diagnosis should have been pain management and diet changes.
A:
You are correct. This is a very complex medical history and file. A med mal attorney could have a difficult time in making a determination here without examining patient chart and medical history in greater detail. The best place to start would be to contact med mal attorneys in Alabama (mentioned above as the location) for an initial consult. They generally work on a contingency basis and many med mal firms offer free initial consultations. At the very least, a consultation could outline for you the timetables and deadlines before which your mother must act to preserve her legal rights. Good luck to your mom.
Tim Akpinar
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