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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
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    4

    Question LAVH/RSO With Complications

    My question involves medical malpractice in the state of: Massachusetts.

    Greeting to all reading this. I have a complicated situation and am running out of time to bring my case to court.
    I will try to be as quick as possible.

    I underwent a LAVH/RSO (Hysterectomy) 9/10/07. Immediately out of the OR upon regaining consciousness I alerted the Post-op staff that there was a horrible pain in my lower right pelvic/abdominal area and I wanted to speak with the surgeon. They told me he was not available and I was then moved to the wrong recovery floor, where none of the staff could answer my questions or assist me properly. I frequently told the staff of this horrible pain and they said to expect that as I had just undergone major surgery. I had several previous surgeries so I felt that this was more than "major surgery effects". Within 12 hours of leaving the OR, they attempted twice to take my pain pump. I demanded to speak with the surgeon and he was not available until morning. The next morning went by and not until that evening did a doctor come talk to me. When I told him that I was having abnormal pain in the lower right area, he said that the surgery was tough due to endometriosis and that my recovery will not be as textbook as other women's typically are.
    So... at my post-op appt, the pain was still horrible and I was being denied pain management. They told me that it will heal as my body did. Well, this went on for a year and three months and during that time the original surgeon left the practice and took time off for elbow surgery and then returned to a unassociated practice. During the year and three months I constantly sought help and was denied, I was referred to other doctors and those refers took almost two years to get in the door. On the one year anniversary I had an appointment with the original surgeon and he said that sometimes this happens and he was terribly sorry and if I needed reports from him to other caretakers he would be happy to produce them. That was it.
    Well on 12/22/08, I was able to convince the surgeon who replaced him to go in and look for the cause of this pain. The pain over the year and 3 months spread into my lower back and down my right leg and foot. I have frequent numbness and weakness on that side and sex is nothing what it was as the pain that it can produce is horrific in it's own. on 12/22/08, the second surgeon preformed a laperscopy and removed a filshie clip that had been tucked away in the right cul-de-sac during the hysterectomy. It was imbedded into my abdominal wall and had to be torn out and had a strange mucus surrounding the area. The second surgeon denies this would have cause the pain I constantly complained about and says that it would be impossible for the clip to cause any internal damage as they are used for tying tubes daily and it was in my body from the time I had the tubal to the time I underwent the hysterectomy.
    I have spoken to a few lawyers who say they think it is a good case them 6 - 9 months later, return my files and say that they can not help. I have not spoke with a lawyer who will even look at all the details or sit down with me and hear what my points are. I have until 10/2010 to file in court and the lawyers keep leaving me hanging. My marriage depleted due to the strain the complications placed upon us, I am now divorced, I am unable to have a normal painless sex life, I have very limited abilities in daily tasks and I have been robbed the ability to have a quality active life with my daughter.
    These are my thoughts:
    - Inadequate Follow-up care (governing standard of care violated, in relation to follow-up care)
    - Negligent performance of hysterectomy (Left filshie clip inside pelvis, requiring 2nd surgery to remove filshie clip which caused permanent femoral and sciatic nerve damage.Right leg and foot weakness and numbness. Paresthesia by tool insertion point.)
    - Original surgeon and his office refused/denied requests and need for 2nd surgery for a year and three months. Refused patient medical assistance and proper pain management.

    Any thoughts on how I could represent myself or obtain proper counsel?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    98,846

    Default Re: LAVH/RSO With Complications

    Representing yourself in a medical malpractice case is beyond the capacity of most individuals - it's a highly specialized field of legal practice, full of potential pitfalls. I don't know of any "how to" resource I could point you to for medical malpractice and, unfortunately, if I found one I wouldn't trust it.

    You can use resources like the AAJ directory to look for lawyers.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: LAVH/RSO With Complications

    Thank you Mr. Knowitall. Maybe I should be trying to find the proper lawyer? I am unsure if I need Personal Injury or Medical Malpractice.

    I have been personally injured due to malpractice.

    Any suggestions? I am in MA and the procedure was done in MA. Thanks

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    38,867

    Default Re: Personal Injury vs. Malpractice

    I would suggest the reactions of those attorneys that reviewed your case and would not accept the case should be very telling of your chances at winning.

    As well, you have absolutely no support for your claim so unless you announce that you are a trained physician, your claims hold no weight.

    so, yes you have and have had pain. The source of the pain has not been identified even though you want to claim the filshie clip. As the doctor stated, since they are left inside the patient when they are used for tubal ligations, it would appear to support his claim as that not being the cause. You would have to prove otherwise to succeed with your claim.


    Unless you can find some support for your claims, you have absolutely nothing and will not get beyond filing.

    and representing yourself; not a chance in the world of you being successful unless you also happened to be a trained lawyer. You will be facing a skilled law firm that does this all the time.

    I'm not suggesting you are not experiencing pain or that the pain may have a cause outside of the surgery itself but when you sue somebody, as the plaintiff, you must prove your case. You cannot simply throw out possibilities and expect them to prove you wrong.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
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    4

    Question Re: Personal Injury vs. Malpractice

    Thank you for your feedback. Would you know or be able to give your opinion on what is the best way to prove my point other than when the filshie clip was removed from where they (according to the post-op report) placed it during the hysterectomy, to go back to later, that when this clip was removed, the pain reduced by a lot. I still have residual effects but the horrific pain that I suffered from causing personal injury has been reduced by the removal of the clip that was in no area that would be medically beneficial to the patient. As I have to prove my case they have to prove that their negligence and poor follow-up care where not the cause of the permanent effects, correct?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    38,867

    Default Re: Personal Injury vs. Malpractice

    . You are considering arguing against well trained and well paid attorneys. They will chew you up and spit you out. They will bring in doctors to support their claim the clip could not have been the cause and even if it did, what the doctor did was not malpractice but with acceptable standards of practice. You will have to have testimony stating that what the doctor did did cause, or could reasonable be assumed it caused the pain and what the doctors did was beyond a reasonable level of care.

    As I have to prove my case they have to prove that their negligence and poor follow-up care where not the cause of the permanent effects, correct?
    No. You have to prove they were likely the cause and if there were other possible causes, yours is the most likely. Only then do they have to defend their actions. If you fail to prove your case, they ask for a dismissal on grounds you have failed to prove your case. If the judge agrees, you all go home. If the judge says stick around, they will bring out doctors that support their defenses. Then the judge or jury will decide who wins.

    On top of that, I, having limited knowledge in human physiology, and have no way of knowing if the clip being where it was could conceivably be considered to be the cause for the other damages.



    While the coincidental evidence of removing the clip corresponds to the relief from pain, since the doctor that removed it stated it is unlikely the cause of the pain and unless you know what else he might have done while in there, it is merely a coincidence. You would have to overcome his professional opinion. A complete surgical report might show some additional action he took that might have been the cause of the pain as well.

    You are seriously underestimating the complexity of taking a med-mal case to trial. I suggest hitting the phone books to continue a search for an attorney that will consider the case. Other than that, unless you have thousands of dollars up front to pay witnesses and court reporters for depositions and many other things you will have to have to take this to trial, you simply cannot even consider doing this on your own.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    Default Re: Personal Injury vs. Malpractice

    Quote Quoting BluOct
    View Post
    iAs I have to prove my case they have to prove that their negligence and poor follow-up care where not the cause of the permanent effects, correct?
    They can and will prove there case when a medical doctor takes the stand and tells the jury that leaving a filshie clip in a patient is standard procedure and there is no negative outcome including pain.

    Then you will be asked if removing the clip has made your pain go away. You will answer "my pain was reduced" this means your still in pain and the clip wasn't the problem.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
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    4

    Default Re: Personal Injury vs. Malpractice

    Thank you for your advice. I have a few more questions...

    If the clip caused unfixable damage, that even after removed could not be restored would this be medical malpractice or personal injury?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    38,867

    Default Re: Personal Injury vs. Malpractice

    Quote Quoting BluOct
    View Post
    Thank you for your advice. I have a few more questions...

    If the clip caused unfixable damage, that even after removed could not be restored would this be medical malpractice or personal injury?
    it's possible but you would have to show that the doctors actions were negligent and that is why the injury or the product was somehow defective and that is the cause of the injury.

    The fact it was there and you have damages, even if the clip was the actual cause, still does not prove negligence or product liability.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    supratentorial region
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    Default Re: Personal Injury vs. Malpractice

    Quote Quoting BluOct
    View Post
    Thank you for your advice. I have a few more questions...

    If the clip caused unfixable damage, that even after removed could not be restored would this be medical malpractice or personal injury?

    They may come back stating the pain was caused by adhesions (scarring) from the surgery... a well known and pretty common surgical risk. One could also develop adhesions around the foreign body (clips, screws, rods, etc) intended to stay in the body after surgery. It is impossible to predict if/how an indivdual patient will develop adhesions.

    You also had endometriosis. Extensive scraping may have been necessary to remove as much as possible. This may also cause adhesions.

    Just throwing that out there.

    I do have a question...how many times during the year and 3 months did you see a Physician reagarding the pain?

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