Injured after surgery while still in hospital

[qwertyaas]

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

I know this is probably pointless due to the amount of time since passed, but I am still curious on this case. In 2001/2002, I was in a hospital for a minor surgery. The sedation lasted just about an hour or so. I was kept in a bed for 30minutes after waking up before being released. Upon the nurse releasing me, she left me alone in the room to get dressed. At that point, I passed out, fell on my face, and knocked 3 teeth loose, and had my lips cut open, as well as my gums.

As a result, I had to go through root canals on each of the 3 teeth, and then crowns. Then in 2007, as a result of the fall and root canals failing due to the trama of the fall, I had to undergo 3 implants for the same teeth.

Each of the procedures cost just around $3,000 per tooth if I remember correctly.

At the time of the fall, my family worked with a lawyer which settled the case for $30,000. Out of curiosity, was that just a lazy lawyer trying to settle for a quick buck, or was that just about the amount that was able to be received from the case.

Additionally, was there anything that could have been done in 2007 after the news of me requiring implants?

Thank you.

[ecmst12]

Having no knowledge of the specifics of your case, no one could tell you whether the settlement was reasonable or not. Does it matter? And was it $30k on top of whatever your treatment cost?

The settlement amount was intended to cover all future medical expenses, so there is no more well to go back to. You signed a release of liability before receiving the money.

[qwertyaas]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

Having no knowledge of the specifics of your case, no one could tell you whether the settlement was reasonable or not. Does it matter? And was it $30k on top of whatever your treatment cost?

The settlement amount was intended to cover all future medical expenses, so there is no more well to go back to. You signed a release of liability before receiving the money.

This is true. It wasn't on top of the medical costs. After the lawyers cut, it came out to just about $20,000. I understand that there is no going back on the case, but I was always curious about the outcome of the case and if it were due to the lawyer looking for a quick out or that was the case.

[barry1817]

Originally Posted by qwertyaas

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

I know this is probably pointless due to the amount of time since passed, but I am still curious on this case. In 2001/2002, I was in a hospital for a minor surgery. The sedation lasted just about an hour or so. I was kept in a bed for 30minutes after waking up before being released. Upon the nurse releasing me, she left me alone in the room to get dressed. At that point, I passed out, fell on my face, and knocked 3 teeth loose, and had my lips cut open, as well as my gums.

As a result, I had to go through root canals on each of the 3 teeth, and then crowns. Then in 2007, as a result of the fall and root canals failing due to the trama of the fall, I had to undergo 3 implants for the same teeth.

Each of the procedures cost just around $3,000 per tooth if I remember correctly.

At the time of the fall, my family worked with a lawyer which settled the case for $30,000. Out of curiosity, was that just a lazy lawyer trying to settle for a quick buck, or was that just about the amount that was able to be received from the case.

Additionally, was there anything that could have been done in 2007 after the news of me requiring implants?

Thank you.

If a lawyer isn't familiar with dental issues, or didn't have a dental expert to advise, then it is very possible that all thought that a one time treatment of the damaged teeth was all that was needed.

When I deal with dental issue and treatment of healthy teeth, with root canals and crowns, then I would always advise to factor in multiple treatments of the teeth because crowns will never last as long as healthy natural teeth.

With traumatic injury, it would then have been important to make sure that any settlement would have included follow up for years to be determined, because you are now understanding the problems that can arise, if not looked at properly at the time of the incident.

I don't know what you can do know, and I do know that looking back with 20/20 hindsight can make people go a little crazy.

[ecmst12]

I bet the 3 implants still cost less then $20k. I bet there was still a decent amount left over after all the medical bills were paid. And no question, there is NOTHING that can be done about it now.

[qwertyaas]

Oh I know that nothing can be done anymore. I was just always curious about the case and the outcome, if that was the case or just the quality of the lawyer.

And the cost for 3 root canals, 3 caps, and then 3 implants were quite expensive (can't remember off the top of my head, although I believe each tooth was $3,000 for implants) and 2+ years in and out of dentist chairs didn't help the situation!