• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Pay for unnecessary surgery?

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

L

LuckyBoy

Guest
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? HI
About 5 years ago I got very sick, went to the emergency room and was assigned a doctor. I explained that I'd been having diarrhea, distended stomach, fever and pain in lower right side. The doctor, who was a surgeon, said he was 99% sure it was my appendix and it needed to come out immediately.
After a couple days I was sent home but soon realized that I was getting worse. My stomach became even more distended, the pain increased. I went back to the emergency and told the doctor. He was puzzled and I was admitted for a few more days. When I asked about the removed appendix, he made a phone call and then told me that it showed no signs of appendicitis.
I eventually recovered without knowing what the real problem was.
After a recent reoccurrance, I learned from tests that I have diverticulosis.

Insurance paid for most of the hospital bills but I am stuck with 2 bills totalling about $900. My reluctance to pay, and I have wrote to the hospital explaining, is that I was
A.misdiagnosed
B. given unnecessary surgery
C. put at considerable risk as a result
D. consigned to endure compounded agony
E. then billed for it
The matter was dropped for about 3 or 4 years, then was resurrected when my new doctor recently went through the hospital's records on this. Now they demand payment once again.
I just find it hard to give them money for nearly killing me. If I am wrong, I will pay them immediately.
Please give your opinion on if I should pay or fight. Thanx
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
I am not a health care practitioner of any kind; nor do I work in the health care field. However, I grew up in a medical household and have done considerable reading on certain medical subjects. I have spent many, many years working with group health insurance benefits and have absorbed a certain amount of medical information. If I am mistaken, I'm sure one of the knowledgeable healthcare professionals who post here will correct me.

It is my understanding that the early sypmtoms of appendicitis can take many forms, and that it can easily be mistaken for a number of other conditions. On the flip side, a number of other conditions can also be mistaken for appendicitis. In other words, it is very easy for an error to be made in the diagnosis of this condition.

I remember reading somewhere that surgeons are/were told, "If ten percent of the appendixes you remove are not normal, then you aren't doing enough appendectomies". The reason behind this was NOT that they should be doing surgery for the sake of doing surgery, but that in a disease that is so easily mistaken for other conditions, it is better to err on the side of caution.

My information may be out of date; I'm not going to swear that there isn't some improved technique for doing such a diagnosis. Again, this is something that one of the healthcare professionals can better respond to. I do know that medicine is not now and never has been an exact science.
 

ellencee

Senior Member
No corrections needed, just a couple of additional comments on the reason to err on the side of caution--a ruptured appendix can be a fatal event and due to the similar symptoms of an inflamed/infected diverticuli and an inflamed/infected appendix, when in doubt, it's best to operate.

The OP has had five years to pay $900; that is not the fault of the surgeon.

EC
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top