Gallbladder Surgery Debacle

[Cali?]

California

My dad went into the hospital for gallbladder removal. Before the actual removal surgery the dr decided to go in and remove some of the bigger stones. After the gallbladder removal surgery the dr couldn't figure out why my after wasn't healing properly, he did test, inserted tubes for draining some "stuff" that was leaking internally and after a week transferred my dad to another hospital. (He didn't even tell us why). Once he was at the other hospital, that dr. told me that my dad was in bad shape and he was going to run test to find the problem. Come to find out the original dr. Cut 2 (I believe) tubes that shouldn't have been cut, not only did he snip them he cut a gap in them, so my dad has had tubes coming out if him for the past 7months, he was in the hospital for 4 1/2 months having surgeries and procedures, rehab only to prepare for the next surgery...he had to have artificial tubes added where the dr. Cut him and will still have to have more surgeries to make the tubes bigger slowly...he still has 4 draining tubes on the outside of his body...

What is his legal recourse and how long does he have before a statue of limitation is up if there is one in malpractice cases??

Thanks In Advance.

 

[Proserpina]

California

My dad went into the hospital for gallbladder removal. Before the actual removal surgery the dr decided to go in and remove some of the bigger stones. After the gallbladder removal surgery the dr couldn't figure out why my after wasn't healing properly, he did test, inserted tubes for draining some "stuff" that was leaking internally and after a week transferred my dad to another hospital. (He didn't even tell us why). Once he was at the other hospital, that dr. told me that my dad was in bad shape and he was going to run test to find the problem. Come to find out the original dr. Cut 2 (I believe) tubes that shouldn't have been cut, not only did he snip them he cut a gap in them, so my dad has had tubes coming out if him for the past 7months, he was in the hospital for 4 1/2 months having surgeries and procedures, rehab only to prepare for the next surgery...he had to have artificial tubes added where the dr. Cut him and will still have to have more surgeries to make the tubes bigger slowly...he still has 4 draining tubes on the outside of his body...

What is his legal recourse and how long does he have before a statue of limitation is up if there is one in malpractice cases??

Thanks In Advance.

Your poor Dad! That is not nice to experience (trust me here).

Now, the problem is that a bad outcome, and sometimes even a "oops, we nicked something" doesn't necessarily mean that there was malpractice. Your Dad's Informed Consent document might even warn him of the risks. With that said, it would be prudent for him to take his medical records to a med-mal attorney for review. Most med-mal attorneys will review for no cost, and if they think you have a decent shot at winning, they'll generally take it on a contingency basis.

As far as the SOL goes, you can read more here: http://www.courts.ca.gov/9618.htm

 

[ecmst12]

He will need to have a local attorney review all his records to determine if malpractice occurred and if so, if there is a viable case. Malpractice cases are extremely expensive to litigate and so generally not worth it unless the damages are in the hundreds of thousands at least.

 

[Cali?]

Thanks! Will do. The dr. Didn't just nick something, he cut a total of 5inches of tube that shouldn't have never even been touched. He closed my dad up like that and didn't realize his mistake for another week, decided he didn't know how to go about fixing it and transferred him to another hospital... That Dr. Spent weeks/months trying to get a treatment plan together as he has never seen this type of "oopsie" before. So in most cases Dr. Are covered under an "oopsies" clause? Just wondering if it would even be worth the trouble.

 

[Proserpina]

Thanks! Will do. The dr. Didn't just nick something, he cut a total of 5inches of tube that shouldn't have never even been touched. He closed my dad up like that and didn't realize his mistake for another week, decided he didn't know how to go about fixing it and transferred him to another hospital... That Dr. Spent weeks/months trying to get a treatment plan together as he has never seen this type of "oopsie" before. So in most cases Dr. Are covered under an "oopsies" clause? Just wondering if it would even be worth the trouble.

It's not so much that Doctors get a free pass. What matters is whether or not the provider deviated from the standard of care.
You can read NOLO's synopsis here: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-the-medical-standard-care-malpractice-case.html

Don't give up just yet.

 

[Cali?]

I just spoke to my sister, she's been in touch with an attorney and he has forwarded my dad's records to his surgeon for review. Those three tubes are there to stay and will just be changed every 2-3 months... That was the best solution. Thanks for the info and the link, I will keep you all posted.

 

[Proserpina]

I just spoke to my sister, she's been in touch with an attorney and he has forwarded my dad's records to his surgeon for review. Those three tubes are there to stay and will just be changed every 2-3 months... That was the best solution. Thanks for the info and the link, I will keep you all posted.

Aww that would be great if you could update

I wish the best of you luck to you and your family.

 

[betachains]

You should definitely take this case to experienced malpractice lawyers. You should be able to get multiple takers.

CA caps pain and suffering damages at a low level, but it sounds like there will be very high costs for ongoing medical care. If there are also economic damages, then the case becomes attractive to medmal lawyers.

Good luck.

 

[betachains]

I should add that malpractice suits take years to resolve. In the meantime, everyone involved will have to go on with other aspects of their lives.

Just because a possible complication is mentioned preop doesn't mean that it did not happen due to incompetence.

From the OP's report, her father's common bile duct was mistaken for the cystic duct, and transected. The consequences are devastating, almost always are referred to big-time hospitals.

 

[OLS]

First of all, that's bad, may you father get well soon. I think getting a local attorney who can closely review you case would be the way of getting at it. This is because he can read the actual consent papers, and take into consideration every little detail of the malpractice. All the best!