Problem Finding Pain Pump Attorney

[billyboyjr]

My question involves an injury that occurred in the state of: minnesota I am having a hard time finding an attorney willing to take on my "pain pump" case. My current orthopedic surgeon is convinced that my shoulder trouble is caused by the use of a pain pump in a prior surgery. Every lawyer I have talked to so far has turned me down... They all say "you may have a case but our firm will not represent you. Should I offer to pay expenses instead of a contingency agreement? I feel the need to at least have my case investigated as I have already lost my career and am now looking at a shoulder replacement. I greatly appreciate any advice thank you.

[Dogmatique]

In all honesty, if you can't get an attorney to take your case on contingency that usually means that you don't have a viable case.

Medmal cases can become incredibly expensive to litigate - they can run into tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars - so if the pay-out wouldn't exceed that, they're generally not considered worth litigating.

[billyboyjr]

Dogmatique, thank you for your quick reply. Why won't a lawyer just say that I don't have a case. Even if they did I guess I can't believe it. It doesn't seem right that someone can sue Mcdonalds for serving hot coffee and win and I lose the functual use of my shoulder and can't even get someone to look into it? I guess thats America today. I Don't mean to sound bitter but I am only in my early 40's and things look a little bleak from my view. Thanks again for taking the time to lay it out there

[Dogmatique]

I understand your frustration, truly.

But first the McDonald's case. The woman in that case suffered 3rd degree burns to her groin. McDonald's conceded that they DID serve the coffee quite a bit hotter than other fast food places in the area. There was liability in that case.

Second..well, loss of function is sometimes a KNOWN risk of certain procedures. Did you sign an informed consent form when you were at the hospital? I'd guess "yes", because they wouldn't have done it otherwise. Was loss of function a known risk of the procedure?

[jk]

billyboyjr;531613]. Why won't a lawyer just say that I don't have a case.

because they may believe you might have a case, just as they told you. Having a case and having a case that is worth taking to court on contingency (for them) are two very different things.

It doesn't seem right that someone can sue Mcdonalds for serving hot coffee and win and I lose the functual use of my shoulder and can't even get someone to look into it?

again, everybody picks on old Stella Liebeck but generally has no understanding of the case. If you read the case, you would see there was a justification for the case.

. I Don't mean to sound bitter but I am only in my early 40's and things look a little bleak from my view. Thanks again for taking the time to lay it out there

bottom line: it's about money and if the lawyers do not see them getting enough money to justify the case, they aren't going to take it on contingency and unless you are wealthy, you are not going to be able to afford to finance such a case.

[billyboyjr]

Dogmatique I reaaly could not tell you if I signed anything...probably did. But I wouldn't have had I known that there was a 66% chance that a pain pump would wreck my shoulder. By the time I had my first surgery it was pretty well known in the medical community that there was little benefit and high probability of developing PAGCL. As far as my mentioning the McDonalds thing, I regret bringing that up. Back when it was in the news and the topic of barroom banter, I always argued that no one in the room was on the jury or in the courtroom so had no right to badmouth the plaintiff. Pretty hypocritical of me.

[jk]

As far as my mentioning the McDonalds thing, I regret bringing that up. Back when it was in the news and the topic of barroom banter, I always argued that no one in the room was on the jury or in the courtroom so had no right to badmouth the plaintiff. Pretty hypocritical of me.

It's just a fun argument for me. Most people have no real idea the facts of the case. All they hear is the old lady won a ton of money because she was so dumb she tried to drive and open her cup of coffee at the same time. Gee, what's our legal system coming to? I read quite a few pages of supporting material and the court opinion as well. If anybody does, they should see where McDonald's did have some culpability.

As to finding a lawyer: when I typed in PAGCL into Google, at least the first 2 pages of sites were regarding lawsuits for situations such as yours. I didn't know what PAGCL is (and still have very limited knowledge of it) but it sounds a lot like what my wife experienced although she did not have a pain pump or pain ball. She does now have an artificial shoulder and if her problem and your problem are similar in nature, you should be quite pleased after joint replacement.

Anyway, based on a very quick look, I find it difficult you are getting the answers you are. It seems to be the next big thing in liability lawsuits.

[billyboyjr]

JK, thanks for reponding to my post. Yes there is a multitude of law firms advertising for pain pump clients, I have only called "cold" one time to a firm I found on the web. The others have been referrals from friends,friends of friends, and law firms that have turned me down. I have found that the bigger the firm is the shorter the conversation. I think part of the problem is that they are all waiting for a class action suit. That has been turned down twice as far as I know. That is just my opinion. It is also possible that they really don't think I have a case that is viable. I am not quite ready to give up yet, not until I can at least get someone to put my mind at ease and tell me why my surgeon is wrong as he is convinced that the pump caused my problem. I am glad to hear a good outcome of a shoulder replacement, I am not looking forward to this at all. All my hobbies are physical type stuff as well as my entire work history. I am trying to convert myself to office work but I spend a lot of time staring out the window. My DR.says my lifetime restrictions will be in the 20-30 pound range...does that sound similar to your wifes?

[jk]

to the restrictions: not at all. The only warning she was given was to not fall. Due to the portion that is inserted into the arm bone, it causes a weak point at the end of the prosthesis which is more susceptible to breaking than an unaltered bone.

Now, since she is a female, typically works in an office, and is not a body builder, I suspect he didn't bother to say to not bench press hundreds of pounds but she was not warned to avoid any work in particular either. I have to say her overall demeanor changed drastically after the surgery. She had something like 8 surgeries to release her shoulder which was the result of an injury in a traffic accident. By the time they finally got it to stay free, she ended up with arthritis which was very painful and caused her to limit her use of it which started the freezing situation to start again. The pain was so constant she was simply not a fun person to live with (if you get my drift). After the surgery and some time to heal, it was like she never was injured.


He was concerned with her wearing it out (which would actually be a direct result of over use due to weight) and was hesitant to replace her shoulder at her age (under 50). We simply told him "she doesn't use her shoulder now. wouldn't it be better to fix it and give her some use of it while she is still young rather than leaving her semi-disabled until she gets old enough to retire and then replace the should so she can sit around in her retirement years with a shoulder that works?" We convinced him that even of we had to consider another replacement in the future, she needed the benefit of the new shoulder now.

To finding a lawyer; just start calling firms advertising they represent people with your problem. If you have a lot of time staring out the window, put that time to use and start dialing. The worst they can say is no.