August 2009, during my last pregnancy, routine lab tests were done at Dr. Thomas Lee's office in Montclair CA. Before the results of these test were back, I transferred to a different doctor. I signed a release form, and requested my information be faxed over to my new doctor, little did I know that the results were never sent. I went into labor at 27 weeks, my daughter weighed 2lbs 3oz. She spent 2 months in NICU before she was released. She was treated for a lot of things, but now she seems healthy. She sees her pediatrician, the regional center, the high risk clinic, a cardiologist, and an eye doctor. For now, I don't know if she will have any permanent injuries. She has not been diagnosed with any permanent injury yet.
While I was in labor, the doctor said that my amniotic fluid had a foul smell, and that I must have had an infection, but there was no follow up about that after. Two months later, I found out that I did come back positive for an infection from the blood tests done at Dr. Lees's office. They never contacted me, nor sent the results to my new doctor. The infection that I had was treatable and since it was not treated, it resulted in the premature labor of my daughter.
I lost my job due to the fact that I went into labor so early. I want to go back to work but my daughter is way to small and needs a lot of extra care to be left with a babysitter. Can I get any sort of compensation for the medical negligence from Dr. Lee's office?
Truth Sets You Free
Consult with a personal injury lawyer
WRG
You might well have a case. I would contact a lawyer.
davidmi711
Possibly. First you will need a doctor that is willing to get on the stand and state that your premature labor and birth were due to the infection and that the blood results would have provided enough notice to stop that from happening if they had been received on time.
Of course you will need to hire a lawyer to handle the case.
sgoldperson
Can you prove the new doctor asked for the info? Did you PERSONALLY call Dr. Lee's office, or simply sign the form? Also you transferred BEFORE the tests were finished, so the office may have sent over your records, and even noted that tests were pending. However they were never contacted again so they wrote it off when they got the test results, thinking the NEW doctor would have sent out for tests. How about a little blame on the new doctor UNLESS you have the whole story and know they asked for the test results from the start, as well as after they should have arrived. This ISN'T negligence if you don't know the whole story, unless you want to sue the new doctor.
Cacille
Get ready to prove that Dr. Lee's office never sent the paperwork. And that your request that paperwork be sent was a signed and agreed upon necessity that needed done. And that the lab tests showed evidence of a possible early delivery/problems with pregnancy. And that your daughter will require tons of medical help for her long-term future because of the unsent papers.
...Also get ready for doctors not wanting to take on you as a patient because of this lawsuit if you ever get it done. Good luck.
Ranger4402
If I am not mistaken the maximum injury award in CA for medical malpractice is $ 250,000.
You will have to find an attorney. This attorney needs to get paid. The costs of bringing this suit could easily exceed the $ 250,000 you will collect or get as a settlement assuming either occurs.
If I were you, I'd be happy that so far your baby is healthy and maybe doesn't have any lifelong problems from this premature delivery. No amount of money can fix things such as permanent blindness, cerebral palsy, or mental retardation. You can get a new job. You can't get a new child.
As for you losing your job, that smacks of an illegal job termination to me. You did not induce this labor. I'd hire an attorney and see if you have a wrongful job termination claim. It is illegal to discriminate against pregnant women in the workplace.
USAFisnumber1
You can sue for all the added medical costs related to the infection including the premature delivery and subsequent care of the infant. You can also sue for related loss of income due to having a premature infant. You can also ask for punitive damages as they did not do as they were legally required to do. You could also ask for a half million for your child due to the extra baby care she needs.
However, if you do not win Dr. Lee could sue you for professional defamation for posting his name like you did here. I suggest you delete this question ASAP and repost it without giving names.
Orignal From: Can I sue for medical negligence without permanent injury?
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