I recently gave birth by c-section and experienced some major complications. I had a previous c-section a few years ago and my doctor decided that, in order to avoid any scar tissue, he was going to cut above the old scar. During the c-section I heard my doctor say "oh, shi*" and asked to have a urologist come to the O.R. for emergency surgery. As I had a spinal block and was awake I asked my doctor what was going on. He said that there was a hole in my bladder and that they needed to repair it ASAP. He told me that there was scar tissue that had adhered to my bladder from the previous c-section and that he purposely cut above my old c-section scar to avoid scar tissue. While waiting for the urologist my doctor started talking about the 1st time he punctured a bladder during a c-section and how he has done this a few times before. The last thing I remember is the urologist saying that they needed 3 layers of stitches to repair the damage. At that time I started experiencing pain and was put under. I also had a tubal ligation (tubes tied) during all of this. My husband was kept in the dark about the emergency surgery for 2 hours, being told that they were "finishing up" every time he asked. All together my c-section, tubal ligation and bladder repair took over 5 hours to complete. Once in my room and out of recovery the doctor told me and my family that he was the one that cut my bladder and that I would have to go home with a catheter until it healed - roughly 10 days. He also stated that "these things happen" and it pretty much wasn't a big deal. I was left with a wound that went from one side of my lower abdomen to the other and 18 staples. This is twice the size of my previous scar. They had to put a drainage tube in my side because of all of the blood that was collecting. I was in the hospital for 4 days and am now home in major pain, a catheter with a bag strapped to my leg and a newborn. I'm unable to do anything and have been very depressed for the last few days over this whole situation. All I'm being told by friends and family is that this never should have happened and that the doctor is totally at fault and I should file a lawsuit. I'm not sure this is considered malpractice or negligence as there are risks associated with any surgery. What, if anything, should I do about this situation? I don't have the strength to fight anything at this point but am left to wonder if this ever should have happened. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
onlymatch4u
In order to sue, you need to prove damages. The real question is why did you need a c-section in the first place. If you can prove that it was totally unnecessary, then that is definitely a doctor induced illness. More people die each year in America from a doctor induced illness than any major disease including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, etc.
In July 2004, Gary Null Ph.D, Carolyn Dean M.D., N.D, Martin Feldman M.D., Debora Rasio M.D., Dorothy Smith Ph.D. wrote a paper that revealed very disturbing facts regarding an annual iatrogenic (induced inadvertently by a physician or surgeon or by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures) death rate of 783,936 in one year. It is further disturbing to realize that as few as 5 percent and only up to 20 percent of iatrogenic acts are ever reported. This means that that iatrogenic death rate of 783,936 is much higher.
As we look at the causes of death from degenerative diseases and other causes in America in 2004, it is obvious we are not good at solving this problem on any level. Deaths from: Heart Disease 652,000, Cancer 553,000, and Stroke 150,000.
When comparing the iatrogenic acts of modern medicine in America with the statistical numbers of people dying of any particular disease, it is evident that the American medical system is the leading cause of death and injury in the United States. And when we look at the cost of these iatrogenic deaths, the cost is in the billions.
A definitive review and close reading of medical peer-review journals, and government health statistics shows that American medicine frequently causes more harm than good. The number of people having in-hospital, adverse drug reactions (ADR) to prescribed medicine is 2.2 million. Dr. Richard Besser, of the CDC, in 1995, said the number of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed annually for viral infections was 20 million. Dr. Besser, in 2003, now refers to tens of millions of unnecessary antibiotics. The number of unnecessary medical and surgical procedures performed annually is 7.5 million. The number of people exposed to unnecessary hospitalization annually is 8.9 million.
My girl friend is a court reporter and does medical malpractice all the time. She sees many, many cases like the one you have described, but the outcomes many times are far worse. There are a lot of "C" students out there practicing medicine. You should talk to a lawyer about this and make the decision from there.
Good luck to you
ni
Wow... and I thought the doctor delivering my girlfriends daughter were idiots... (i made her but I wanna make sure she gets the credit for it too) I think you could especially for pain and suffering. If he said he has done it a few times he shouldn't make mistakes like that... but I am not a lawyer i would look in a local phone book and find a few lawyers and see what they're opinions are.Me and my girlfriend sued someone for a different reason and scenario and that's what we did. And we found a guy who wouldn't charge us unless we won. So good luck and best wishes
engineerlaborer
.Malpractice is substandard care, that consists of obvious errors and not doing what their supposed to (which is negligence).
Orignal From: Would this be malpractice or negligence?
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