On June 4th, my grandmother started what would be a series of ongoing complications which will hopefully lead to a successful knee replacement operation. So to make this story short, this is what happened...The operation itself was fine and went smoothly. My grandmother then went to the nursing home which is none to good either. So a few weeks later, we found out that the knee was infected and unfortunately, the surgeon that did the operation was on vacation. When he got back from said vacation, he was nervous about going back in or "waiting and seeing" if the infection would clear up, which everyone knew it wouldn't. Meanwhile, my grandmother who was in massive amounts of pain, has to sit in the nursing home and wait for this surgeon to, as my mother puts it "shit or get off the pot." While the doctor was deciding to "shit or get off the pot" my grandmother had an anxiety attack or pneumonia (we still don't know which yet) and had to go to the hospital. The doctor finally decided to use the skin grafts instead of putting the block of disinfectant into her leg which would cause her to not be able to move her leg for a few months. This operation needed to happen soon, so nothing could get worse. Unfortunately the plastic surgeon could not take her in until a week after today. The original surgeon said he could pull some strings and get her in sooner, but wouldn't you know it, he went on vacation again. Some how, action was taken and she went into operation yesterday Unfortunately again, some machine that the plastic surgeons needed was MIA so my mother had to personally go and pick up the machine at the place it was being delivered and personally drive it to the operation.. Luckily the operation was successfull but unfortunately she is currently having breathing problems in the hospital.
I understand that mistakes happen but this has just been a series of mistakes.
Ruth S
A knee replacement? People have them all the time, and I am quite sure they weren't put through all this palava!! Number one, the Nursing home, start with that! What kind of care did they give your grandmother while she was there? Was there a doctor in the house who knew what he was doing? And did he actually SEE your grandmother? Also, how long did it take before you were notified BY the Nursing home, that infection had set in!??? Seems to me! If there was an open wound, how in the world did the infection get in it!?? That's the first thing I would question - the kind of care Granma got!! And, if she can speak for hereself, write down everything she can remember! Yes, doctor's are famous for going on vacation, just when they are really needed! BUT! he should have left another doctor in charge of his patients while he was away! Was that done!? OH! I forgot to mention! The Nursing home staff, were there any qualified RN's on the premises, and how often was the wound dressed!? LOL! I am covering everything!!(And also ask Grandma if they made her wait to go to the bathroom! Sounds frivolous but when I was in the hospital, and told NOT to get out of bed, I rang for the nurse, and a voice said, just a minute, it was 4.30 pm! Now get this! NOBODY even came into my room until 7.00 am the next morning! So I wasn't trying to be funny!)
So, moving along, probably with the infection plus the pain, and her age, she most likely developed the pneumonia - sometimes caused by the lack of exercise, yes, I know she couldn't walk, but the staff should have been giving her massages to keep her blood circulating! And why the skin grafts!?? OVER infection!? I am surprised she hasn't lost her leg!! Now at this point, I would have started screaming LAW SUIT! Never mind if the end result turned out to be a success, but think about what Grandma had to go through because of all this incompetance! And she is still not out of the woods with the breathing problems! I hope you have all this documented, cos if it was me, I would be banging on the door of a good attorney! right now!! Please tell grandma, I am thinking about her, and I pray to God she pulls through all this.Bless her heart!
djflare99
Obviously the answer for you is get a consultation from an attorney. With that aside...my 2 cents. I think because of the "series" of problems, if you were to file a suit, you would have no idea who to sue... the nursing home? the 1st doctor? the 2nd doctor? You also have to show that her breathing problems were the result of her knee, and DUE TO MISMANAGEMENT of the knee. That is, if her knee had been treated correctly, she would not have developed breathing problems. That obviously is quite hard to prove without a diagnosis of her breathing problem. (is it anxiety? pneumonia? pulmonary embolism?) If you focus on just the knee, the question is was there mismanagement? If a knee had developed a "septic joint" where pus is pouring out of the knee, that is an emergent condition, and any competent doctor would have admitted her for surgery. It doesn't sound like it was an "emergent infection" as you mentioned 2 doctors who elected to postpone her treatment. Then you have to prove that the "watch and wait" approach was against standard of care, which despite possibly more pain and suffering, could very well be the ideal "medical" decision.
All being said, you need an expert attorney to go any further. It sounds like a complicated case. Even the lawyer thinks there is neglect, then in the lawyer's eyes, it has to have a large settlement behind it to make a profit as most med mal lawyers are paid only if they win. Depending on what state you in, many states have no imposed the 250k pain/suffering limit. Also, many lawyers don't accept cases with elderly because they don't have "income earning potential" which will increase the size of the settlement. In the end, it's up to you and your family to see whether this all is worth pursuing.
Orignal From: Medical Lawsuit In Question.
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