What should we do with my sons Dr? He implanted a medical device in my sons heart that has been recalled by the FDA

Question

my son almost died from infection in his heart from the implant . now he has tried to say my sons valve should be repaired but nothing about taking the device out that has made him sick and is recalled. I feel the dr is lying and has lied to cover up mistakes such as implanted the wrong size as well as the recall on them my son will need more heart surgery now. I don't think my son needed the device at 4 mths old his heart was repaired and he was perfect after the implant his growth stopped my son says it made him feel worse . hes never been the same the implant was to avoid open heart surgery again however it cause his heart to enlarge and then he needed the valve surgery any way . It was the wrong size and I have argued with this dr and he insists it was fine. It damn near killed him from MRSA infection and he is allergic to the nickel. He has still avoided speaking about the recall. He is shady and did a procedure on my son wit out me being there my son was an adult but he knew

Katherine Goodman · Answer

You should speak with a medical malpractice attorney about the next steps and to walk you through your all your options such as a filing a lawsuit or filing a malpractice complaint with the Oregon medical licensing board, etc.  Good Luck.

Joanne Reisman · Answer

You say that your son is now an adult so your son will need to be the person that seeks additional medical advice or who contacts an Attorney if he feels that there was medical malpractice.  You should talk to your son and encourage him to seek medical advice from another heart surgeon.  Technically it isn't medical malpractice to use a device that has been approved by the FDA only to be recalled later.  Whether the doctor took appropriate steps after the device was recalled depends on whether other doctors would agree that what your son's doctor did was or wasn't reasonable.  So the opinions of other doctors are what counts to determine if this particular doctor acted within the scope of medical reasonableness based on what was known in the medical community in that location at that time.

Jina Ly Clark · Answer

For a medical malpractice claim, you will need a qualified doctor to be able to testify that your current doctor did not meet the standard of care.  It sounds like you are still seeking the services of the doctor whom you claim failed to meet the standard of care. First, I would get him to a good doctor who can correctly fix the problem and potentially testify that the previous doc failed to meet the standard of care.  For most malpractice claims in Oregon it is best to settle or  file a lawsuit within two years of the malpractice, although there may be extended limitations due your son being a minor, but this may not apply to medical bills.  A full analysis after receiving full details of your case would need to be done for statute of limitations issues,  and any other available extensions that may or may not allow you more than two years.  If you are dealing with a hospital that is state run, you will also need to get out tort claim notice within 180 days.

Q: What should we do with my sons Dr? He implanted a medical device in my sons heart that has been recalled by the FDA