Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in California

Re: Hospital Negligence after surgery/surgeon left town with no backup

Yes yes and yes.

JOEL SELIK

Attorney at Law

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Re: Hospital Negligence after surgery/surgeon left town with no backup

Q. Last year I had surgery at a local hospital...

A. Statute of limitations for professional medical negligence is 1 year from the date of the occurrence or from the time known or should have known of the malpractice. The one year is extended by a 90 day period if prior to the expiration of the one year, you or your attorney send a letter to the doctor informing him of your intent to sue.

Q. It was a female surgery, I was required to stay in a room with a man, woke up to find myself exposed to the man across the hall...

A. Here you have a cause of action for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and possibly for invasion of privacy. Not a medical malpractice, hence different sets of rules apply.

Q. ... bed broke, requiring, I spent several hours without bed, developed a hematoma or seroma that was diagnosed at another facility via ultrasounds.

A. Again, this is a straight forward negligence and possibly products liability. If your subsequent injuries resulted from breaking of the bed, then MICRA limits don't apply and you're better off. (A lawyer should explain you all this. It will take too long to write.)

Q. Doctor left town, leaving no backup for surgery patients. I am left with internal groin tear that requires daily pain medication, interfers with my ability to walk upright some part of each day, urine incontinence, etc.

A. This one is probably a malpractice, but needs to be carefully reviewed. Records are needed for that. In some cases it is only the hospital's duty to make sure that adequate numbers of doctors are available. So, the contract between the doctor and the hospital will become an important piece of this puzzle. Also, current regulations need to be reviewed.

Q. Took four tries to get only partial med records from hospital, etc. I have sworn declaration of credible witness as to hospital care and MD admissions. Is hospital required to provide complete medical records, and is MD required to provide backup for surgery patients when he leaves on vacation?

A. Under Health & Safety Code 123110 and Evidence Code 1158 the health care providers have limited time (15 and 5 days) to provide you with your complete medical records. If they fail to do so, they are subject to substantial penalties if you complain to the correct authorities. You can also sue them and get your records including attorney's fees.

Q. Can I be reimbursed for my expenses and receive payment to have this problem fixed?

A. Depends... the case needs to be carefully reviewed. You seem to have very little time to deal with these issues. Thus, run to your nearest lawyer who does med-mal. If you can't find anyone, let me know and I'll try to help you.

Good luck.

Re: Hospital Negligence after surgery/surgeon left town with no backup

First, on behalf of all attorney on this board who respond to such questions, let me assure you that we are all very sympathetic.

Secondly, I would suggest that you contact at least two of the attorneys on this board, closest to you. This will assist in determining whether or not you should proceed with your case.

With respect to your questions, please understand that medical malpractice questions are very difficult, both to analyze and to provide an answer to patients as to whether or not malpractice has occurred.

Analysis of the hospital records, together with the physician records, will prove vital. Also, any attorney will need to determine whether or not the injuries you have (internal groin tear that requires daily pain medication, urine incontinence), were actually the result of either 1) malpractice or 2) as you claim, patient abandoment or failure to observe your condition.

Please understand that many times, conditions develop that are not due to malpractice or negligence of your physician.

I would suggest you await responses on the board and speak with at least two attorneys closest to you and/or contact your county Bar Association and request referral to an attorney experienced in medical malpractice law.

Re: Hospital Negligence after surgery/surgeon left town with no backup

Patient abandonment is malpractice. Leaving a patient post-operatively without competent physician coverage is malpractice too. There may be more here as well, suggested by the poor outcome. The hospital is required to provide a copy of the full record at the patient's request, but not for free. It can require reasonable payment for copies of the record. So too, the doctor. Only a review of the record with qualified experts, possibly with an examination of you, the patient can determine if there was any malpractice (which is another word for professional negligence)and whether that malpractice caused any injury. Once that is evaluated one must consider what the "injury" is worth, since malpractice cases are expensive to prosecute given the need for highly paid medical consultant experts in every case. The economics will drive both the attorneys decision and your own of whether to pursue a lawsuit.

You should know that the statute of limitations for medical malpractice is one year from the discovery of the injury and its negligent cause. Any lawsuit must be commenced within the statute of limitations.

These cases are handled on a contingency basis by law, meaning the attorneys fees which are regulated by statute can only be charged against any recovery. You will have some out of pocket costs to collect the records and obtain appropriate expert review of the matter.

Contact a qualified attorney to help you evaluate the issues involved.

Keep in mind that in smaller communities it is often very difficult to find competent physician experts willing to work for a plaintiff in a malpractice case. Be prepared to look for the assistance you need outside of your local community which from your zip code I presume to be Fresno. Many attorneys with expertise in this area of law will take cases away from their own metropolitan areas.

I hope this helps. You must be committed to finding the truth if you will ultimately have any legal remedy.