Why can't we sue

[Guest]

I am just a lurker here, working up the courage to register. I was dxed two weeks ago with inoperable adeno--stage Iv mets to adrenal and waiting to see if places on bone are mets or not. Waiting??? Anyway, I had beathing tests and chest xray a year ago. Supposedly I had COPD, but my new doctor can't imagine how a 15 cm tumor did not show up a year ago since I was told there was no pnuemonia at the time of the xray. And guess what, for some strange reason, the old doc can't find my xray. Imagine that. I have been told it is hard to recover based on missed dx-- especially with cancer. A lawyer said --maybe but he sure would like to see that xray--and so would I.

Anyone here every tried suing?

[Hebbie]

I too wrestled w/ the notion of suing. 8 months prior to diagnoses, I had an emergency appendectomy as well as an ovarian cyst surgically removed (at the same time). Apparently, on the x-ray of my abdomen(which also showed my lungs) the report stated a "shadow" on my lung that should be "investigated further". No one ever told me this. Not my surgeon from my appendectomy, not my OBGYN who performed the cyst removal and not my family doctor, who was supposedly sent a report.

I did not realize this until 8 months later when I had a chest x-ray at the same hospital and they told me I had pneumonia. They then pulled out the previous x-ray and saw that something was on that one as well. They asked why I never followed up....I told them I didn't know.

Now, from time to time, my mother gets on my case BIG TIME to sue. So does my ex-husband. But after thinking it through, I came to a realization. Yes, maybe I would get somewhere. Yes, maybe I would get some money out of it. Perhaps even some satisfaction. But it is not going to change my diagnoses. I can play the "I wonder" game and try to figure out if I would have been Stage IIIA at that time or maybe only Stage I or II......but instead of driving myself crazy with the what if's and focusing all of my energy on the negatives, I have chosen to let the past lie in the past and focus on my future. On positive things that bring me happiness and put all of my energy into staying healthy, eating right, exercising and loving my family.

I can't say what you should do and can only offer my opinion of what was right for me. You just need to decide what is right for you!

Whatever you decide, I wish you the best!

Heather

[Andrea]

My law firm does a lot of medical malpractice defense, I do more employment law b/c the med mal stories really do feed on my neurosis, especially the cancer ones.

I have no opinions either way, it just depends on the case. Many are legit, many are not. I feel bad for the drs on the one hand and the nurses b/c they get sued over the CRAZIEST things; however reading Heather's story and "Guest's" story, well, I won't publicly say what I would like to do to those doctors or what I wish for them

One thing to keep in mind about suing, in most states there is a "statute of limitations" which means that you have to sue within 1 year of realizing there was a problem. A lot of people decide 2 or 3 years later to sue and it is too late.

[Rick]

Suing in regards to the Lung Cancer is very difficult and drawn out. I will ask Katieb to update on this post as she has been through all this and still going.

[kimblanchard]

I agree with Heather. I considered suing too when my report didn't get to the doc for 3 months but it wouldn't change a thing. I do know that policies and procedures were put into effect after my incident, to hopefully assure it doesn't happen again. If that helps somone else, I am satisfied.

[Elaine]

This is an interesting topic. I hope to hear from Katie on it soon. It seems so many mistakes are made and it's not like it's as harmless as a typo. Though some typos are, in fact, harmful in the legal sense, so I 've heard

Elaine

[Andrea]

Med mal cases are so hard to prove for many reasons. Again, I really have no opinion b/c in certain situations, lawsuits are 100% justified; and in other cases I have seen, I feel bad for the drs.

First, it is hard to prove what a doctor did is wrong b/c decisions are made fast in emergency situations and it is a judgment call.

Second, doctors are all somehow connected, so it is really difficult to find one doctor who is qualified as an expert to actually be willing to give testimony that another dr is wrong. Usually you have to go out of your area for experts which is expensive. Let's say you live in LA and are treated at Cedars and want to sue a dr related to Cedars--you will be hard pressed to find a dr in the LA area to give an opinion that a Cedars dr was wrong (or wrong in the sense of violating the law) because that doctor may sometime want to work at Cedars. Also, that dr would not want someone to say that his judgment in his own practice was wrong; so he won't testify against another dr.

Third, in most states, which I find ludicrious, a Plaintiff can get $7million punitive damages from McDonalds for coffee being too hot, but on Medical Malpractice claims, the limit for non-economic damages is only $250,000!!!

Fourth, you have to prove all of your damages and show that your outcome now is different because of the dr's mistake. In other words, if the dr screwed up, but you are in the same position you would have been, you lose b/c no real damage.

Fifth, you have to get an economist as an expert to prove how your income has been effected, what you would have earned but for dr mistake, how much you had to spend in medical costs. That is expensive itself!

Sixth, Plaintiff lawyers usually work on a contingency, meaning they get a certain % of winnings. So it is expensive for an atty to even be willing to take on a med mal case that does not have the potential for huge winnings and many won't take small cases unless the client puts up fees or pays up front. Also, it is expensive to hire doctors to give their expert testimony and most people cannot afford expert fees and many lawyers won't forward them.

Bottom line, it is crappy for those with a legitimate case. But protects drs from all the ridiculous lawsuits.

[glo]

This is a very interesting topic. I have thought about pursuing some complaint, if not suing, but concluded that it would put both me and my daughter through the wringer emotionally; would not, of course, bring my husband back to life; and although money is something and could possibly improve my lifestyle, it's far from a given that I would actually win a settlement.

I feel my husband would have lived longer had his back pain not been misdiagnosed (without x-rays and scans) and six weeks not been wasted on physical therapy he didn't need. Also, he died of pneumonia and staph infection he contracted in the hospital after surgery to stabilize his spine and rib cage, and I believe if the surgical site had been watched more carefully this might not have occurred. BUT none of this changes the situation I am in now. The world is so full of "if onlys". I think he did not regret having the surgery, and given the same circumstances I would agree to it again. It was his only hope.

What we really need is better early detection methods and for doctors to routinely order the tests. Yes, I do think many doctors look at someone who has smoked for a long time as "doomed" and undertreat them. When even smokers are not tested, it's a given that non-smokers will not be, and so their chances of early detection are even smaller.

I'm changing my doctor and medical group, but keeping the same insurance carrier (because you can only change once a year). I do intend to at least send a letter to Blue Shield stating what I think was poor practice from the doctor and medical group I had at the time.

And this brings me to the hot topic of the board -- advocacy -- yes, it is needed. No, I'm not strong enough right now to tackle it. I do appreciate Katie and Rick and all they are doing, and plan to donate as often as I can. And I so appreciate this board, where all of us can share thoughts and feeling and support each other.

Gloria

[Fay A.]

What if what you want is isn't money? What I want, and more importantly NEED, is for the correct information to be in the medical record. Because decisions about my medical condition and care are still being predicated upon the erroneous and/or incomplete and/or misleading information in my records. If the record is corrected then the hospitals/physicians will have to admit that serious errors occurred. It appears that I will have to hire an attorney to compell these changes to be made. And the truth is that I resent that my hard earned money is going to have to be spent not on GOOD MEDICAL CARE, but to insure that the true test results are a part of the actual medical record. It's criminal.

[glo]

I totally agree with you, Fay.

What's happening with you is here and now and your very life may be at stake. It is certainly not right that you should have to hire attorneys and stress over incorrect or incomplete information/procedures/etc. with your treatment. You should be able to expend your energy on things that make your recovery go easier, while feeling confident that your doctors are doing everything possible and considering all avenues available. Unfortunately, that is often not the case in today's health care system.

I haven't decided to just forget the mistakes and go on. I just haven't been able to deal with it yet.

Gloria

[J.C.]

Fay,

I had so many errors in my medical file (2 different hospitals)

that I requested a full copy of all my files and underlined all

the errors and wrong statements and went to the meducal board

of those hospitals and asked for a total revision, and all the errors

and wrong statements were corrected.

The 2 hospitals had to send me explanations and excuses.

Now at least I am treated for the right sickness and I have the right

to see reports right away.

J.C.

[Mary]

This topic is very interesting because it has been my experience that some doctors are more interested in covering their ---, then in trying something unorthodox. I think this is because they are afraid of being sued. I think this holds research and longevity for cancer patients back.

Best Wishes,

Mary