Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Michigan
Was this Malpractice or Negligence?
I met my husband 1 year after he was in a serious car accident. He'd broken his neck. At the time in the hospital, they did not do xrays - even though he'd had to have over 300 stitches in his head. The broken neck wasn't found until about 3 months later (this was all back in 1978). They figured the only reason he wasn't dead or paralyzed was because his neck is quite muscular from working out. He'd decided not to sue if he was going to be ok. Now, he's had alot of problems with his neck. It's degenerating at the disc where it broke, and he's had physical therapy lately to ease the pain. We found out that he should have had extensive physical therapy after the surgery in 1978, but this was never brought up to him then. If he had he may not have had the problems he has now. Is there anything that can be done after this length of time? Thank you!
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Was this Malpractice or Negligence?
This is a malpractice case, as any negligence by a health care professional calls under the medical malpractice laws of Michigan. Although you generally only have 2 years to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, there is an exception wherein you have 6 months from the date you "discover" the problem or the malpractice, since not all problems are easily ascertainable, such as your case. However, due to the 30 years since the failure to treat/malpractice, it is likely that some or all of the doctors are deceased, the medical facilities may be out of business, and I highly doubt that any of the medical records are still available. It may be very difficult to prove your case.
However, if you'd like to have a lawyer review the details of your case and determine if any of the medical records are available and obtainable, please contact me.
Thanks.
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