Should I file suit against the doctors who botched surgery to my arm?
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Should I file suit against the doctors who botched surgery to my arm?
I had a broken humerus and was told by another doctor that my plate was put in wrong. Then after the surgery, I was given the wrong post-op procedures and it ended up causing temporary nerve damage.
Asked on June 10, 2015 under Malpractice Law, Louisiana
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 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).
Prior to filing a lawsuit for negligence against the doctor(s) for the surgery and the post-operative procedures, it may be possible to settle the case with their malpractice insurance carriers.
Your claim filed with the malpractice insurance carriers should include your medical bills, medical reports (especially the report from the doctor who said the plate in your humerus was installed incorrectly) 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/condition and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering which is an amount in addition to the medical bills. Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement.
If the case is settled with the malpractice insurance carriers, NO lawsuit is filed.
If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the malpractice insurance carriers, reject the settlement offers and file a lawsuit for negligence against the doctors. If the case has been settled with the malpractice insurance carrier for a doctor, only name the doctor(s) with whom the case has NOT settled as defendants in your lawsuit for negligence.
If the case has NOT settled, your lawsuit for negligence must be filed prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.
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