Q: Can I sue the dr who worked in the ER for ripping my retina open and making me blind in my left eye?
I went to the ER a couple years ago because the stitches in my left eye that I had from a corneal transplant came undone and my cornea was barely hanging on my eyeball. The dr in the ER refused to give me any pain medication until after they were positive I wasn't pregnant. However the nurse who would take my urine sample was "busy and it would be a while before she could see me". Then he told me to I was being really loud and for me to quiet down because I might make the other patients "uneasy and think he was hurting me or something". Finally he decided to look at my eye and told me to open it as wide as I could and I did. He told me to open my eye wider and I told him I couldn't. He then pried my eye open more and when he did I felt my eyeball literally RIP in half. He put his hands up and said he would be back and walked out and came back in less than 2 minutes later with a nurse with something for pain and after they gave me the medicine I dont remember much until the next day.
A:
Would make an interesting Law Exam question. The first issue you raise is whether you can still bring any kind of case on a Professional Negligence claim because this happened "a couple of years ago." You need to discuss all of your facts with a Medical Malpractice attorney in your area. Next, there is a 90 day letter that you must send to the MD and any other health care provider you want to sue, like the Hospital, advising them of the substance of your claim and making a dollar demand for settlement. If you do not do this, you cannot bring a lawsuit. The Med Mal attorney will know how to do this. Finally, before you can file a lawsuit, you have to obtain an opinion from a doctor practicing in the specialty that says in his/her opinion, the ER doctor's actions were "below the standard of care" in the community.
You should look for a Medical Mal Attorney here on Justia or on the CAOC website and discuss your case with him as soon as possible.
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