Inspired by this thread: Stupidest advice ever given to you by a Doctor where the comment was made that several of the thread’s posters could/should have sued (and in my post I said I tried), I wondered how many posters actually have filed a malpractice suit, medical or otherwise?
If you did, how did it go? Did you win?
My suit never got off the ground because my only expert witness was in the middle of his own medical malpractice suit–a doctor had KILLED his WIFE with some incorrect medication (!!!) and he (understandably) couldn’t bring himself to be involved in another suit at that time. I still feel bad for that poor guy… he was fairly young and had two young children. But anyway, back to the thread.
Feel free to elaborate on your answer, even if you say no (like if you could have, but didn’t, you can explain your choice).
I had surgery back in 2008. The surgeon nicked my pancreas which caused an infection that took me a couple of months to recover from. Some people suggested I should sue the surgeon. But I figured it was just an accident not a sign of negligence. I was covered by insurance so I didn’t need the money for my medical expenses. And I didn’t want to sue somebody just because I could.
I still think I should’ve sued the doctor that violated FDA reccomendations about how long you are supposed to be on benzos (drugs like Valium). Not that I had a clear enough case to win, but making him even slightly more reluctant to do it again would be nice.
Unfortunately, I lacked the money and the ability to handle the stress.
When my ovary burst, the ER sent me home with pain meds and a note to see my regular Dr.
It wasn’t until my second trip and many hours that they discovered I had lost half my blood. Emergency surgery and a blood transfusion later, some people suggested I sue.
The thought never entered my mind. I was just glad they had helped me in the end.
The third child that my ex-wife and I had died shortly after birth due to medical mismanagement. We tried to find out what had gone wrong, with no intention of litigation, but unions and insurance companies prevented people from telling us the truth, so we ended up having to sue them.
They had no case at all and were soon offering to settle out of court. We agreed to an out of court settlement on condition that all the principals and legal practitioners of the other parties attended a meeting to hear what we had to say.
They had no choice but to agree. My wife and I explained to them that their obstructionist behavior had forced us to take legal action we didn’t want to take, that they were treating us like sleazy opportunists looking to profit from our son’s death, that they were parasites padding their bills at the expense of their clients.
Happily, the lead lawyer for the doctor’s medical defense company quit soon after and she is now acting for victims of malpractice.