What to do if I had a repeat C-section and it popped open when I returned home?

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What to do if I had a repeat C-section and it popped open when I returned home?

I had my son and had to be packed with ribbon. Now I have a wound vac hooked up to me. I was wondering would I have a case and, if so, who will be sued – the doctor or the hospital? I was told it was caused by the operation because a tiny vissel popped and my whole stomach was bruised when I came home.

Asked on August 2, 2013 under Malpractice Law, Rhode Island

Answers:

S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 10 years ago | Contributor

Medical malpractice is negligence.  Negligence is the failure to exercise due care (that degree of care that a reasonable medical practitioner in the community would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm).  This is the negligence claim against the doctor.

The negligence claim against the hospital would be the failure to exercise due care (that degree of care that a reasonable hospital would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm).

Prior to filing your lawsuit for negligence naming both the doctor and the hospital as defendants, it may be possible to settle the case with the malpractice insurance carrier for the doctor and the insurance carrier for the hospital.

Your claim filed with both parties' insurance carriers, should include your medical bills, medical reports and if applicable, documentation of any wage loss.  Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement.  The medical reports will document the nature and extent of your injury and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering which is an amount in addition to the medical bills.  Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.

If the case is settled with both parties' insurance carriers, NO lawsuit is filed.

If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the insurance carriers, reject the settlement offers and file your lawsuit for negligence.  If the case is settled with one party, but not the other, only name the party with whom the case did not settle as a defendant in your lawsuit.  For example, if the case settled with the hospital, but not the doctor, only name the doctor as a defendant.  If the case settled with the doctor, but not the hospital, only name the hospital as a defendant in your lawsuit.  If the case did not settle with either party, name both doctor and hospital as defendants in your lawsuit.  If the case settled with both parties, NO lawsuit is filed as mentioned above.

If the case is not settled, you must file your lawsuit prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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