Fertility Problems After Late Diagnosis of Appendicitis During Prior Pregnancy

[thescrapper]

My question involves medical malpractice in the state of: CA

I don't know what the statute of limitations are on something like this, but here is what happened.

In 2002 I was pregnant and kept complaining of pain on my right side. The doctor said it was normal and to just do mommy and me yoga or other exercise, even though I expressed to her that the pain was too severe to exercise. I kept going in and finally they did an ultrasound and sent me home on bed rest saying that I was in pre-term labor. The pain never subsided in fact it only got worse, so I finally went in and said I would not leave until they figured out what was wrong. They did a blood test, never done before, and immediately sent me to have some CT scans. Apparently my iron count was dangerously low. They saw something in the ct scan, but could not figure out what it was. They did exploratory surgery and found that my appendix had ruptured. The surgery took 3 hours because of the amount of infection. The next day the surgeon called my room and said that he wanted me to understand how serious this was. They believed that I had been walking around with a ruptured appendix for about a month. They said it imploded on itself containing the poison so that it didn't travel throughout my body. I stayed in the hospital for 20 days and delivered a healthy baby boy. My right side however was not the same.

A year later we wanted to start trying to have another child and we tried and tried. These same doctors told us to keep trying. They said "We know that you can get pregnant, you have a child". After 3 years we finally went to a fertility specialist. After several hysteroscopies and laperoscopies, they informed me that my tubes were blocked. They believe that my left tube was always blocked and my right tube was so severely damaged from the ruptured appendix and surgery, that it along with my ovary are glued too my uterine wall with scar tissue.

The problem is that now we have been through 2 failed IVF procedures and cannot afford another round. If they would have diagnosed the appendix earlier, perhaps I'd have a better outcome. The surgery was so risky, I was 27 weeks pregnant, they told me that my baby and I had a 50% chance of surviving the surgery. Yet the doctor didn't take my complaints seriously enough and now I can't have any more children. IVF isn't working and they wasted 3 years of my life telling me to keep trying. And since then I have recurring blood-filled cysts on my right ovary. some that have ruptured, putting my in the hospital.

Do I have any recourse at all?

[Mr. Knowitall]

You stated that your appendix imploded and, as a consequence, nothing was released from your intestine into your abdominal cavity - no toxins, no infection, no peritonitis. Thus, although there may be something in your medical record that could suggest otherwise, we don't have any information that would suggest that your surgery would have been less complicated or would have resulted in a different outcome, even if performed a month earlier. If you have any information that might suggest a better outcome, please share it or run it past a malpractice lawyer in your state.

Consultations with medical malpractice lawyers are free, and if the lawyer sees potential in your case he will have the medical records reviewed to try to get a better sense of what happened and whether your injury was avoidable.

[medcoder&bill]

I think you have a case. Consult a malpractice lawyer to be sure they almost always do contingency fee so you don't need money upfront to pursue this. In your case, statute of limitations started when the 2nd(?) doctor told you about the outcome of the appendectomy. That right there, you have a case. The 1st doctor surely knows your tube was damaged and should have informed you. Statute of limitations start when the patient knew what was wrong. In your case, you only knew that appendectomy was botched via your 2nd doctor.