atrial sepal defect

oh I am a 40 year old male,In aug 2000,I had a minor heart attact?The hospital ran test on me and said that I needed a trible by-pass,in aug I had that done.About a month later I was still feeling bad and went back into the the hospital,they ran all kinda test on me and found nothing wrong,I was still feeling bad.In feb 2003 I went back to the hospital and they said I needed stents inplanted.In feb I had that done,about 2 weeks later I was still feeling bad>I went back to the doctor and they said I needed to do a stress test.I lasted about 3 min on the test and the doctor said everything was ok,that same day I went to a differnt hospital and they ran test on me and said that I had a huge hole in my heart.I had an atrial septal defect?I had it repaired in may 2003.Im still having problems.I got an attorney and he had all my medical records for about 5 months,on jult 27 2004 he sent me a letter saying that he did not want the case and that if I wanted to file a case it had to be done by aug2 2004 or I could not file a case.So I filed the case but now I have no attorney,what should I do,HELP!!

You need another attorney.
Any idea how or why an atrial-septal defect was not diagnosed? Did you ever have an echocardiogram or any imaging test with dye (contrast) that viewed the entire heart?
EC

ellencee said:

You need another attorney.
Any idea how or why an atrial-septal defect was not diagnosed? Did you ever have an echocardiogram or any imaging test with dye (contrast) that viewed the entire heart?
EC

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Hi EC,Im not really sure if they did the echo with dye or not!All I know is that I let them do what ever they needed to tell me my problem and to fix it?? As for getting another attorney The case is all ready filed and I cant find someone to take,Right now I am my own attorney,and dont have an idea what im doing???

You can not win without an attorney and I doubt you can even find a medical expert willing to participate in a pro-se medmal suit.

You can find an attorney who will be able to get this into court if you have a meritorious medmal claim.

You may want to speak with an attorney who represents clients in malpractice suits against attorneys. I don't believe your attorney could legally drop your case with that little time left to file. I think you would have to be able to prove that you would have won your medmal claim in order to be awarded equitable damages from the attorney medmal suit. Still, you may want to consult with an attorney on this matter.

Did your attorney say why he dropped your case? You need to prove that either the surgeries you had were not necessary or that your tests revealed the atrial septal defect and the defect should have been repaired when the bypass surgery was done instead of causing you to have to have additional surgery. Is the proof there (in your films, reports, notes, etc.)?

EC

ellencee said:

You can not win without an attorney and I doubt you can even find a medical expert willing to participate in a pro-se medmal suit.

You can find an attorney who will be able to get this into court if you have a meritorious medmal claim.

You may want to speak with an attorney who represents clients in malpractice suits against attorneys. I don't believe your attorney could legally drop your case with that little time left to file. I think you would have to be able to prove that you would have won your medmal claim in order to be awarded equitable damages from the attorney medmal suit. Still, you may want to consult with an attorney on this matter.

Did your attorney say why he dropped your case? You need to prove that either the surgeries you had were not necessary or that your tests revealed the atrial septal defect and the defect should have been repaired when the bypass surgery was done instead of causing you to have to have additional surgery. Is the proof there (in your films, reports, notes, etc.)?

EC

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Hi EC,The attorney said that he believes strongly that the hospital should have diagnosed this problem much earlier,and that the records supports this conclusion but it would be difficult to prove quantifiable damage to my heart or health?When it comes to my heart their is still something wrong,I have an appointment this Friday at a differnt hospital for a stress echocardiogram!As for my health,mentally and emotionaly it as been hard,from 2000 to 2003 I knew something was wrong and they could find nothing and they me feel like something was wrong with me!!I really lost my trust in the medical profession but I know that I dont have much choice but to deal with them thats were the emotional part comes in,Sometimes I will start feeling sorry for myself and get up-set,I am kinda moody,Thiers alot more I could say about it but I really dont like thinking about it to much.

gdbent
If I were consulting for your former attorney, and going on the assumption that the atrial septal defect is apparent on the heart studies (cath's, arteriograms, ultrasounds, indicated on ECGs, etc.), I would suggest that the attorney not focus on the surgeries that were needed or on damages to the heart from the defect's not being diagnosed but to focus on the fact that you will have to have additional cardiac surgery to repair the defect when it could have and should have been done at the time of the bypass surgeries. The expense of the additional tests (stress tests) and the additional medical expenses for continuing heart problems could also be used to establish the monetary 'damages'.

Did your attorney ever have the diagnositc records evaluated by a cardiologist?

EC

Bottom line: there is no money in this case.
You do not realize that sometimes it takes a long time to receive all the pertinent record. Then, when he had the whole picture, your attorney reviewed them. No case worth anything.

Jeez-O-Pete, Vzirn, get a life and quit trying to ruin others.

vrzirn is most likely correct because the potential for recovery will not support a medmal claim against cardiologists and hospitals and that is most likely why the attorney dropped the case.

It is possible that a smaller amount, achieved through a settlement, is an option and possibly can be managed through mediation; that is the basis for the answer that I provided (additional surgery and tests that would not have otherwise been needed).

It's a no-win if the poster attempts this pro-se; no doubt about it.

EC