Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Pennsylvania

Re: post-operative appendectomy complications

It may have been negligent to discharge you without antibiotics. Indeed you should probably have received an antibiotic before surgery.

It is unclear from your question whether or not surgery was performed again to treat the abcess and intra-abdominal infection. In general surgery is required to treat such an abcess.

You also do not indicate whether you recovered without any persistent medical problems.

Even assuming you suffered the need for further treatment and surgery as a result of the failure to give antibiotics after your appendectomy it doesn't necessarily follow that it would be practical to pursue a legal claim. One has to determine whether the magnitude of damages justifies the expense and effort such claims require. This determination requires information that you have not provided.

Re: post-operative appendectomy complications

From the facts you presented it sounds like you probably were subjected to�medical negligence�, but I don�t see a medical malpractice case. This is my opinion only, another attorney may feel differently.

It sounds like the first doctors were careless in sending you home with appendicitis, and the second doctors may have been careless in sending you home without proper instructions or followup. However, a successful medical malpractice case requires that you demonstrate to a jury that you suffered substantial harm. The facts, as you presented them, do not indicate the kind of harm which would justify a medical malpractice claim.

You should immediately speak to malpractice attorneys if you are interested in pursuing a possible case. Most attorneys will be speak to you without a fee to see if they would take your case on a contingent fee basis.