What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Louisiana
My husband had hip replacement surgery 7/29/14, the surgeon drilled into his pelvis and incorrectly attached the cup. 48 hours later he operated on my husband again to correct the mistake, he admitted he'd made a mistake and said he "must have hit some soft bone". For 5 months after this my husband went for physical therapy but was unable to walk without the use of a walker. In January of 2015 we asked for a 2nd opinion as my husband was regressing rather than progressing, the Dr. had told us on each monthly appointment that "everything looks great", until we asked for a 2nd opinion and then it was "it would appear the hip was failing". The surgeon referred us to his head of orthopedics who in June of 2015 did reconstructive hip surgery that took approximately 6 hours. From the hospital, my husband went into a skilled nursing facility where after approximately 10 days he developed cellulitis. It was pointed out to the nurses, physical therapists and Director of Nursing at the facility that there was excessive swelling in the left foot and leg (side the hip surgery was done) and that it was spreading to the right leg. The staff got the nursing home doctor in and they did an ultra sound to make sure there wasn't a blood clot. When it got to where the left foot showed redness of infection I insisted they take him to the doctor and find out what was happening as something was obviously wrong. My husband is also on diabetic medication. The doctor sent my husband directly from his office to the Hospital where he was immediately admitted and stayed for approximately 9 days. As the insurance company rules wouldn't let him stay longer his was discharged and I brought him home where we had to sit outside in 105 degree heat for 5 hours until my son & his wife got home from work and drive to our home to help get him up the 5 steps into the house, (it took 3 of us to pick him up and carry him). Due to the infection not being completely cleared, he was back in hospital a week later and was allowed to stay for 3 days. A week later he was back in hospital again still for the same infection and was allowed to stay for 2 days and then sent home with a pic line and a 6 day intravenous drug course. My husband is getting home health and we now have found out that there is also nerve damage to the left leg where he cannot flex the left foot which might explain why he's still in a wheel chair and not able to stand up straight or walk more than 20-50 feet with the aid of a walker and in a bent over position . My husband has to sleep in a chair as he cannot lie down on his back and has not slept in a bed(other than when in hospital,) for over a year now.
My question is can we sue (and if so under what category) the original surgeon for his "mistake" and the nursing home for allowing the cellulitis to get to the point where my husband had to be admitted into hospital for neglect. This mistake by the surgeon and the neglect by the Nursing Home, along with the Insurance company's so called "following Medicare's rules" has left us with continual medical expenses that are never ending.
My husband had hip replacement surgery 7/29/14, the surgeon drilled into his pelvis and incorrectly attached the cup. 48 hours later he operated on my husband again to correct the mistake, he admitted he'd made a mistake and said he "must have hit some soft bone". For 5 months after this my husband went for physical therapy but was unable to walk without the use of a walker. In January of 2015 we asked for a 2nd opinion as my husband was regressing rather than progressing, the Dr. had told us on each monthly appointment that "everything looks great", until we asked for a 2nd opinion and then it was "it would appear the hip was failing". The surgeon referred us to his head of orthopedics who in June of 2015 did reconstructive hip surgery that took approximately 6 hours. From the hospital, my husband went into a skilled nursing facility where after approximately 10 days he developed cellulitis. It was pointed out to the nurses, physical therapists and Director of Nursing at the facility that there was excessive swelling in the left foot and leg (side the hip surgery was done) and that it was spreading to the right leg. The staff got the nursing home doctor in and they did an ultra sound to make sure there wasn't a blood clot. When it got to where the left foot showed redness of infection I insisted they take him to the doctor and find out what was happening as something was obviously wrong. My husband is also on diabetic medication. The doctor sent my husband directly from his office to the Hospital where he was immediately admitted and stayed for approximately 9 days. As the insurance company rules wouldn't let him stay longer his was discharged and I brought him home where we had to sit outside in 105 degree heat for 5 hours until my son & his wife got home from work and drive to our home to help get him up the 5 steps into the house, (it took 3 of us to pick him up and carry him). Due to the infection not being completely cleared, he was back in hospital a week later and was allowed to stay for 3 days. A week later he was back in hospital again still for the same infection and was allowed to stay for 2 days and then sent home with a pic line and a 6 day intravenous drug course. My husband is getting home health and we now have found out that there is also nerve damage to the left leg where he cannot flex the left foot which might explain why he's still in a wheel chair and not able to stand up straight or walk more than 20-50 feet with the aid of a walker and in a bent over position . My husband has to sleep in a chair as he cannot lie down on his back and has not slept in a bed(other than when in hospital,) for over a year now.
My question is can we sue (and if so under what category) the original surgeon for his "mistake" and the nursing home for allowing the cellulitis to get to the point where my husband had to be admitted into hospital for neglect. This mistake by the surgeon and the neglect by the Nursing Home, along with the Insurance company's so called "following Medicare's rules" has left us with continual medical expenses that are never ending.
