Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in California

Mis-Diagnosed Severed Tendon and Nerves

While opening a can I cut my thumb. The fire dept. came and advised that I needed to see a doctor. En route to the hospital I was bleeding through the gauze they had wrapped my thumb in so my husband stopped at a "Doctors on Duty Clinic" to see if they could look at it. I was taken right in and the Medical Assistant said they would clean it up, re-wrap it and send me on to the hospital.The doctor came and said all I neeed was stitches and he could do it right there. He put 12 stitches in my thumb and told me to come back the next day. I went back and was told it was fine to come back in 10 days to have the stitches removed. When I went back I saw another doctor who was very surprised that the doctor had just stitched my thumb because he felt the tendon and nerves had been severed. I was advised to see a specialist right away. When I saw the specialist he advised me that I should have never been stitched because the Flexor tendon and the ulnar digital nerve had been cut. I have now had surgery to repair the tendon and nerve but I now am unable to use my thumb. I have a profound stiffness and my thumb stays bent at about a 30 degree angle. I am unable to straighten or bend beyond that angle.I still have no return of sensation.


Asked on 8/29/99, 8:42 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert E. Drescher Law Offices of Robert E. Drescher

Re: Mis-Diagnosed Severed Tendon and Nerves

You may have a malpractice case. More information is needed such as what papers said when you were seen by the doctor who stiched you up. What your medical records indicate, would your thumb be in the condition it is in even if the first doctor did his/her job right..

Please feel free to contact me via e-mail directly with this additional information and I can give you a better recommendation.

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Answered on 8/30/99, 7:53 pm


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