Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in California
Broken bone missed
I went to the emergency room when i fell down my stairs. At the emergency room only my ankle was taken a x-ray of (I was unaware my whole foot did not get x-rayed even though I told DR it hurt). They cleared me of no broken bones. My general doctor also cleared me of no broken bones since he went off the report he got from the hospital. My general doctor only examined me for two minutes then got into a religous debate with me for 10 mins, telling me I did not need religion to be a good human. Two weeks later I went for a second opinion- found out I did have a broken bone requiring surgery. For two weeks I missed more work, paid more medical bills, and went around with a broken bone. Do I have a case of negligence? Can I get compensaion for missed work?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Broken bone missed
You may have a claim, but its value is a big question.
Did the delay change the treatment?
Would a timely diagnosis get you back to work sooner?
There is the pain and sufffering from the untreated fracture, but how much more was that then what you would have endured with timely diagnosis and treatment?
These are the kind of questions a defense counsel would raise even assuming negligence was proven.
Perhaps a small claims action would be a better route - keep attorneys out of the courtroom.
But you will still need an ER MD to testify that the ER MD was negligent and a general practioner to testify the GP was negligent and then an orthopedist or podiatrist to testify to the differences in outcomes between timely diagnosis and treatment and the delay you endured.
A most daunting task.
Good luck
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