Broken Elbow badly corrected

I live in Michigan.

My son broke his elbow (3rd degree) in October of 2000. He was 7 at the time. He was treated with 2 pins that day.

His arm rotated early after pinning and continued to rotate. The doctor continued to tell us this was fine and that the arm would "remodel".

We found a specialist that stated that 1. one of the pins was not put in correctly, and 2. the doctor failed to correct the rotation early on. However, this same expert doctor was on the review board for the doctor that did the surgury. Therefore, he could not be our expert witness due to conflict of interest.

To this point, we found a willing attorney for our sons case, but are striking out finding another expert witness that is willing to go up to bat. It seems the industry is very closely nit. We know this is malpractice because of what the first doctor told us.

How do we get a witness to stand up for our son?

Sincerely, Broken

[ellencee]

This site has an expert referral page; check it. You can also search for medical expert witnesses on the web.

I didn't see a link. What site are you referring to for resources?

[vrzirn]

Just guessing because you were not specific. It sounds like your son had a common but often complicated surpracondylar fracture of the distal humerus.
If your attorney is truly experienced in the area of medical mal-practice he should already know of several expert witnesses upon whom he can call for testimony.
Finding experts is your attorney's job. However, there will always be another 5 witnesses from the insurance carrier to say, "Good job. Bad result".

Yes, that is what my son had. The attorney only made one attempt to get a witness and was turned down, so he dropped the case without checking with others.

I feel the comunity is "tightly formed" and sticking out for one another. Can I get an expert out of state or from another part of my state?

The first doctor who wasn't from the area said the 1st pin was not even put into the bone.

Thats not good job, bad result, thats bad job bad result.

[vrzirn]

Perhaps, perhaps not. You would have to look at all the x-rays before you can definitely make that pronouncement. Before pinning, after pinning, and later to see if the pin somehow moved out of place. As I said, this type of fracture can be very complicated. Ulnar nerve injuries are frequent.
The doctor was right in saying that the arm may "mold" itself into place. Young children's bones have a remarkable ability to return to the correct shape even if the pin is not exactly in the right place.
If your son's arm has now healed properly he is fortunate. Pursuing a lawsuit is expensive, time-consuming and entails much anxiety and anguish. Your attorney may be "willing", but once he discovers how much expense it entails and how formidable the opposition he may not be so eager.
Good luck.