Broken Screws in back surgery

[ampall]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GA

Hi, I am new here--so I hope I am adhering to all of the laws for posting.
My husband underwent a major back surgery about 10 months ago. He had 3 discs removed and 4 vertebrae fused together. About 3 or so months ago, after experiencing some pain, a screw was found to be broken. His doctor brushed it off and said his fusion was solid and that was all that mattered. Fast forward about 2 months (a month ago), another screw was found to be broken (during x-ray) after my husband experienced increasing pain levels. His doctor again doesn't seem too concerned, but my husband has pressed for more imaging to conclude if he will need a second surgery, and/or if the screws need removed.
My question is--were the screws defective? Were they placed incorrectly (who is to know? we are getting second opinions)? Is it/could it be malpractice? They are the bottom two screws on the fusion. He has not been doing anything strenuous, and the doctor agreed that it wasn't anything that my husband did to cause them to break.
My husband is very young for this type of major surgery and it is proving to have caused extreme mental (and physical) distress.

Side note, we asked his doc office for his medical records---they said they could NOT give them to us, only another doctor. Is that legal?
TIA

 

[tranquility]

Probably not as I can't see how knowing what is in such a record could harm you. But, make the request in writing and require a written response.

http://www.hpi.georgetown.edu/privacy/stateguides/ga/gaguide3.html
http://sos.ga.gov/plb/GEORGIA%20PATIENT%20RECORDS%20LAWS.pdf

 

[Ladyback1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GA

Hi, I am new here--so I hope I am adhering to all of the laws for posting.
My husband underwent a major back surgery about 10 months ago. He had 3 discs removed and 4 vertebrae fused together. About 3 or so months ago, after experiencing some pain, a screw was found to be broken. His doctor brushed it off and said his fusion was solid and that was all that mattered. Fast forward about 2 months (a month ago), another screw was found to be broken (during x-ray) after my husband experienced increasing pain levels. His doctor again doesn't seem too concerned, but my husband has pressed for more imaging to conclude if he will need a second surgery, and/or if the screws need removed.
My question is--were the screws defective? Were they placed incorrectly (who is to know? we are getting second opinions)? Is it/could it be malpractice? They are the bottom two screws on the fusion. He has not been doing anything strenuous, and the doctor agreed that it wasn't anything that my husband did to cause them to break.
My husband is very young for this type of major surgery and it is proving to have caused extreme mental (and physical) distress.

Side note, we asked his doc office for his medical records---they said they could NOT give them to us, only another doctor. Is that legal?
TIA

Hardware failure (the screws) is a known (possible) complication.
Read the link below:
http://umm.edu/programs/spine/health/guides/complications-of-spine-surgery

Unless there is contradictory information, I don't think your husband's medical case falls into the realm of malpractice.

Drs. releasing medical records is a tricky issue for all parties. And, if you are getting a second opinion, you should be having the medical records sent to the other physician anyway.

You say your husband is young: How old is he? Why was the surgery necessary? Did he have an injury? Was their some sort of genetic anomaly?
The answers do matter.

(My mother has had numerous back surgeries, my dad has had a couple, and both of my sister have had back surgeries--one sister has had 7 or could be up to 8 now. So the chances of me having back issues is highly probably based on family history)

 

[Proserpina]

OP, your husband has a right to a copy of his medical records. The facility may charge him for this, but they cannot withhold the records except in a tiny few exceptional circumstances.

(Actually the facility will likely charge a tad more than a few bucks - and seriously, most non medical folk won't understand half it it anyway. It's generally easier for the old provider to simply send the records to your new provider since most will do this has a courtesy, free of charge)

 

[betachains]

Unfortunately, the efficacy of spinal fusion for back pain is pretty low. The popularity of this operation has exploded in the past decade, nothing to do with it being among the number 1 moneymaker for hospitals, and back-surgeons being the top-paid docs.

I would seek third, and fourth opinions before further intervention. The broken screws are prob. irrelevant.

From a clinical point of view, I don't think there is malpractice involved. But you should run it thru a medmal lawyer.

 

[justalayman]

It is more likely a product liability issue and not a malpractice issue. Malpractice is for when the doctor screws up (no pun intended). Product liability is for when the product is not up to proper standards and causes damages.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

It is more likely a product liability issue and not a malpractice issue. Malpractice is for when the doctor screws up (no pun intended). Product liability is for when the product is not up to proper standards and causes damages.

I would imagine that if a lawsuit is initiated, the complaint would have counts for malpractice, breach of warranty of merchantability, breach of warranty of fitness for a specific purpose, strict products liability for both design and manufacturing defects, negligent design of the screws and negligent manufacturing of the screws.

 

[ampall]

Thank you

Thank you all for your replies.
Honestly, we have had (more than) several people suggest to us that we should seek legal counsel.
I understand that there are inherent risks with any back operation. The thing is-- we have had so many different things told to us. I'm not sure if there is a possibility that he over tightened the screws or did something incorrectly. I'm also not sure if there was something wrong with the screws themselves. What I'm even less sure of, though, is how to tell if any of the above occurred.
My husband is 25. He injured it while on a mission in Afghanistan. It's a possibility that he might have been predispositioned for the injury also... His father had back surgery as well (though not as severe, and he has no pain from it).
It's just hard.... He is so young. He cannot do any type of physical activity over a level of about 3-4 for the rest of his life. You can actually physically hear the screws (I'm assuming that's what it is) creaking in his back.
If it helps, one of the screws broke in the middle, the other right below the head (they are pedestal screws).
I don't want to waste time/money if all of this is just bad luck. However, it has caused a significant amount of stress and pain (emotional and physical) on our family, and if we deserve to be compensated for it, then I want to pursue it.

Thanks