Broken Screws Foot Fusion

[frankenfoot]

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

Hi - Short version -
Went to Dr with bone spurs in ball of my foot.
Dr said I'll remove spurs, and to make foot work better I'll put screws in middle of foot to make ball movement easier in future. OK.
HAd work done, two screws inserted. Both broken. No fusion.

Months of BS with Dr and lots of foot pain. Blames screw company says he's got 3 patients w broken screws. But doesn't fix my foot. I wore a walking boot for 15 months.

Find new Dr.
VERY well respected one. Hard to get into but I did it.

Dr literally looks at my foot and says "Who did this ****"?
He really said that.
He told me that the screws put into my foot were made for a little child and not a grown man of my size. Dr tells me other Dr screwed up bad.

New Dr. Fixes my foot (repair surgery) by removing broken screws and inserting plate with huge screw and a few smaller ones, but quite bigger than the original. Worked fine and I'm finally healed.

Problem is I went to a lawyer ----- 11 months ago.
He has my broken screws (removed during repair surgery)
Keeps telling me he's talking to the "expert" and will get back to me in a day or so.
Keeps telling me this for months.

What do I do?
I Know I have a case against the guy who did my first surgery.
I "think" I might have a case against the screw company.

My lawyer is good, quite good in fact, but i'm getting no attention.

Do I hang in there or get a new lawyer?
I'd think 11 months is long enough.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

The defendant will drag it out as long as possible. When the statute of limitations is approaching, things will start moving. The statute of limitations for med-mal in MN is four years, so don't expect much of anything to happen until three years after the treatment from the first doctor.

 

[ecmst12]

Malpractice litigation takes a LONG time. 3-5 years minimum. 11 months is nothing.

 

[justalayman]

to your statement about having a case against the screw manufacturer.

If the new doctor was correct and the first doctor used an incorrect screw not recommended for an adult, the screw manufacturer would not bear liability here. It would have been the doctor's decision to use the wrong screw.

 

[frankenfoot]

To clairfy

HI -

Thank you for your responses.

TO CLARIFY - MY LAWYER has NOT filed a Lawsuit yet.
MY LAWYER is blowing me off.

I realize this will take time. I don't care. The first Dr really screwed up my foot for life. Bone grafts and two extra surgeries, none of which would have been necessary if he just did what was needed. Remove the bone spurs.

It's the Lawyer I've gone to who is talking to me, but NOT filing a lawsuit.
He keeps telling me we'll get this firuged out then start rolling, but nothing.

Thanks
FrankenFoot.

P.S. The advice about the Manufacturer is appreciated. Makes sense.

 

[ecmst12]

The lawsuit does not need to be filed, and probably won't be filed, until close to the SOL. And yes, it can take a long time (not to mention the cost) to get expert witness reports in. Expert witnesses are busy people! And lawyers do EVERYTHING slowly.

 

[You Are Guilty]

Medical device cases tend to be rather complex due to the more than usual number of potential causes of action they can generate. You'll really want a seasoned medical products liability lawyer, not some run of the mill personal injury guy/gal. For a decent overview of what types of claims are at issue, here's one Minnesota case with a good explanation:
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13072425808145197152&q="learned+intermediary"+minnesota+"medical+device"&hl=en&as_sdt=2,33

 

[frankenfoot]

The lawsuit does not need to be filed, and probably won't be filed, until close to the SOL. And yes, it can take a long time (not to mention the cost) to get expert witness reports in. Expert witnesses are busy people! And lawyers do EVERYTHING slowly.

Thank you so much.
I was afraid of the SOL and the well, what if this guy doesn't file and I've only got a minute amount of time to find another lawyer, and then he doesn't have enough time to do discovery, etc., because I AM going to file.

I don't care if it takes 10 years after that, but I'm going to file.