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missed fracture

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coolguy78

Junior Member
Hello. I'm a 22 year old male who was hit by a car in mid April 2011 in New York State, I went straight to the E.R after the hit and got x-rays on my wrist, back, leg, and hip all results came back negative. I was still feeling pain in my wrist so I went back to the same Doctor's office May 2nd 2011 to get it checked out again but there was no x-ray techs available so they scheduled me an appointment with the orthopedics department for May 24th which was about a month after the initial E.R visit. The Orthopedics gave me another x-ray and found out I had a broken left Scaphoid (wrist bone). The Dr explained that this type of bone fracture is hard to spot but he also said he didn't understand how the E.R didn't spot the fracture because after he blew the x-ray image up he saw the fracture very faintly; so because of the month in between the diagnoses i had to receive surgery which required a bone graft and a screw implant in my left wrist. I am 100 % left handed and couldn't work because my hand was in a cast from May 2011 to September 2011 and I had to wear a splint from September 2011 to November 2011 and also had occupational therapy twice a week from September 2011 to November 2011. After reading this my question is do I have a legitimate case for medical malpractice please explain in detail whether or not if I do or don't and why.

thanks
 
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Just Blue

Senior Member
Hello. I'm a 22 year old male who was hit by a car in mid April 2011 in New York State, I went straight to the E.R after the hit and got x-rays on my wrist, back, leg, and hip all results came back negative. I was still feeling pain in my wrist so I went back to the same Doctor's office May 2nd 2011 to get it checked out again but there was no x-ray techs available so they scheduled me an appointment with the orthopedics department for May 24th which was about a month after the initial E.R visit. The Orthopedics gave me another x-ray and found out I had a broken left Scaphoid (wrist bone). The Dr explained that this type of bone fracture is hard to spot but he also said he didn't understand how the E.R didn't spot the fracture because after he blew the x-ray image up he saw the fracture very faintly; so because of the month in between the diagnoses i had to receive surgery which required a bone graft and a screw implant in my left wrist. I am 100 % left handed and couldn't work because my hand was in a cast from May 2011 to September 2011 and I had to wear a splint from September 2011 to November 2011 and also had occupational therapy twice a week from September 2011 to November 2011. After reading this my question is do I have a legitimate case for medical malpractice please explain in detail whether or not if I do or don't and why.

thanks

Pick a forum and delete the other thread. Also edit out you e-mail.

Thanks.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
Fractures are frequently hard to diagnose immediately after a trauma because swelling in the area can obscure the x-rays.
 

coolguy78

Junior Member
im not out for money at all but at the same time i was evicted from my apartment over this missed fracture. if it was caught i would have just been in a cast for a month or two but since they didn't i lost 7 months of work
 

lealea1005

Senior Member
The Orthopedics gave me another x-ray and found out I had a broken left Scaphoid (wrist bone). The Dr explained that this type of bone fracture is hard to spot but he also said he didn't understand how the E.R didn't spot the fracture because after he blew the x-ray image up he saw the fracture very faintly;...
Well, if the Orthopedic Surgeon (the bone specialist) had to increase the size and resolution of the x-ray in order to make the diagnosis, how would one expect an ER Doc (and espidosic, emergency event doc) to make the diangosis? The Orthropod had the luxury of hindsight and knew to look further because you presented with continued pain in the area, post trauma.
 

coolguy78

Junior Member
if i owned my own practice of any sort i would go as far as possible just to cover my back some emergency rooms rush rush rush Dr's and lawyers and insurance companies alike try to quick talk people who they fell are uneducated little did they know i have a bachelors degree and want to become a lawyer and to the auto adjuster who made the comment about its about money not justice you will say the opposite if you was the one injured and not working for the company being sued :) isn't that the point of insurance or is it to fill your pockets up and hope no one who you insured ever needs you lol . that is why you go to jail if you drive an uninsured car you can't have it both ways. All i have to say is if people do their job right it wouldn't come down to this.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
If you had your own practice you would learn very quickly that you cannot take the time to enlarge every xray and increase the resolution just in case maybe there is something that got missed. Particularly not in the ER where they HAVE to rush since people are there for - you know - emergencies? You can't let everyone sit there waiting without any treatment at all while you spend all your time "covering your ass". Or your ass really will need treatment because one of the people you didn't treat will die and his family will sue you.

No. You do not have a case to sue anyone. It can be very difficult to diagnose a fracture immediately because of the swelling, and if the ortho had to enlarge and increase the xray a month after the fact before he could see it "faintly" you will never in a million years get a judge or jury to agree that the standard of care was breached.
 

Proserpina

Senior Member
if i owned my own practice of any sort i would go as far as possible just to cover my back some emergency rooms rush rush rush Dr's and lawyers and insurance companies alike try to quick talk people who they fell are uneducated little did they know i have a bachelors degree and want to become a lawyer and to the auto adjuster who made the comment about its about money not justice you will say the opposite if you was the one injured and not working for the company being sued :) isn't that the point of insurance or is it to fill your pockets up and hope no one who you insured ever needs you lol . that is why you go to jail if you drive an uninsured car you can't have it both ways. All i have to say is if people do their job right it wouldn't come down to this.


Might want to work on your written English if you wish to become a lawyer.
 

coolguy78

Junior Member
Let me say this again in a different way he enlarged the April E.R x ray to see the fracture which means it was there and he compared it to the May orthopedic x ray and it wasn't much of a difference and i watched him enlarge the x ray it took about 2 to 3 seconds. I understand people have to rush or whatever but all you have to do is increase the radiation when there is to much swelling my friend is a x-ray tech and thats what the Dr's office he work at do. I didn't know free advice was going to get people this upset stop acting like im trying to sue you and I was on a jury for this same type of case this year and can you guess what the verdict was. Stop acting like your way or thought process is the only way; we all knew Casey another killed or had something to do with killing her child but the jury thought otherwise. A good lawyer can work wonders. Thank You Very Much
 

Proserpina

Senior Member
Let me say this again in a different way he enlarged the April E.R x ray to see the fracture which means it was there and he compared it to the May orthopedic x ray and it wasn't much of a difference and i watched him enlarge the x ray it took about 2 to 3 seconds. I understand people have to rush or whatever but all you have to do is increase the radiation when there is to much swelling my friend is a x-ray tech and thats what the Dr's office he work at do. I didn't know free advice was going to get people this upset stop acting like im trying to sue you and I was on a jury for this same type of case this year and can you guess what the verdict was. Stop acting like your way or thought process is the only way; we all knew Casey another killed or had something to do with killing her child but the jury thought otherwise. A good lawyer can work wonders. Thank You Very Much

I don't think anybody here cares enough to be upset at your posts.

And you may want to rethink making such a statement about Casey.

You don't want to be sued for defamation of character, correct? Defending against such a suit would bury you.

You're welcome. :cool:
 

OHRoadwarrior

Senior Member
If you feel you already have the answer to your question, based on your own prior experience, you should be explaining why your case is a winner, to a lawyer. You should not be telling us about it.
 

lealea1005

Senior Member
Let me say this again in a different way he enlarged the April E.R x ray to see the fracture which means it was there and he compared it to the May orthopedic x ray and it wasn't much of a difference and i watched him enlarge the x ray it took about 2 to 3 seconds.
The original Physician practiced well withint he standard of care. S/he must rely on the interpretation of the Radiologist reading the actualy film. The original film did not show an obvious fx. A month/6 weeks later, when you presented at an Orthopedic surgeon's office with continued pain, another x-ray was obtained for comparison. Only after the comparison was a "very faint" (aka: hairline) fx found. You were immediately, and appropriately, treated at that time.

I understand people have to rush or whatever but all you have to do is increase the radiation when there is to much swelling my friend is a x-ray tech and thats what the Dr's office he work at do.
No, you do not understand and your "friend" either needs retraining or his employer needs to be reported. If the x-ray shows nothing and the PHYSICIAN is still suspicious that there is a fx, another test (CT or MRI) is ordered.

I didn't know free advice was going to get people this upset stop acting like im trying to sue you and I was on a jury for this same type of case this year and can you guess what the verdict was. Stop acting like your way or thought process is the only way; we all knew Casey another killed or had something to do with killing her child but the jury thought otherwise. A good lawyer can work wonders. Thank You Very Much
Oh, get over yourself.:rolleyes:
 
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