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Medical malpractice leading to death

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sweets53

Member
What is the name of your state? New York; Glen Cove Long Island.
Is there a statute of limitation on filing a lawsuit against a surgeon whose actions led to the death of a patient? My father, never recovered from the major surgery performed & died a few days thereafter, 2/4/2005. It was for colon cancer but the tests revealed the cancer to be smaller than previously thought & I'm thinking could've been removed safely by a laparoscopic procedure rather than major surgery.
 


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lealea1005

Senior Member
sweets53 said:
What is the name of your state? New York; Glen Cove Long Island.
Is there a statute of limitation on filing a lawsuit against a surgeon whose actions led to the death of a patient? My father, never recovered from the major surgery performed & died a few days thereafter, 2/4/2005. It was for colon cancer but the tests revealed the cancer to be smaller than previously thought & I'm thinking could've been removed safely by a laparoscopic procedure rather than major surgery.
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I'm sorry for your loss.
The size of the cancer is really irrelevant to the type of surgery needed to remove it. For example, a small melanoma may require major disection to be removed.
 
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sweets53

Member
As you may or may not know, most surgeons do the same surgical procedures on their patients. In this case tests revealed the cancer was smaller than originally thought &this type of surgerymay not have been necessary but the surgeon went ahead with it simply because he thought my father could withstand it, which he didn't. My question is whether a lawsuit may be filed after 24 months of death occurred, 2/4/05?
 
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lealea1005

Senior Member
sweets53 said:
As you may or may not know, most surgeons do the same surgical procedures on their patients. In this case tests revealed the cancer was smaller than originally thought &this type of surgerymay not have been necessary but the surgeon went ahead with it simply because he thought my father could withstand it, which he didn't. My question is whether a lawsuit may be filed after 24 months of death occurred, 2/4/05?
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I do not know the SOL. Perhaps one of the other members will be able to answer that question for you.

However, in order to have a malpractice case, you will need to prove the surgery performed was below the standard of care and that caused your father's death.

What was the cause of death listed on your father's death certificate? Where did you get your information regarding your father's surgery?
 
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sweets53

Member
Reply to lealea 1005

To answer your questions LeaLea 1005:
On the death certificate it lists Immediate cause of death: Cardiac Arrhythmia. Due to or as a consequence of: Obstructing Carcinoma of Colon.
However we sought out this surgeon several weeks before my father was admitted to the hospital. Tests were done at the hospital to determine if my father could withstand surgery & to determine the size of the tumor. I was told by one of the attendings that test revealed the cancer was not as large a tumor as they had originally thought. But the surgery was not cancelled & I now know that less invasive procedures are performed to remove tumors of the colon such as laparoscopy.
 
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lealea1005

Senior Member
sweets53 said:
To answer your questions LeaLea 1005:
On the death certificate it lists Immediate cause of death: Cardiac Arrhythmia. Due to or as a consequence of: Obstructing Carcinoma of Colon.
However we sought out this surgeon several weeks before my father was admitted to the hospital. Tests were done at the hospital to determine if my father could withstand surgery & to determine the size of the tumor. I was told by one of the attendings that test revealed the cancer was not as large a tumor as they had originally thought. But the surgery was not cancelled & I now know that less invasive procedures are performed to remove tumors of the colon such as laparoscopy.
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Your father had pre-op testing and was cleared for surgery. There was no way to tell if there was damage or necrosis to the surrounding intestional tissue until it was visualized by the surgeon. It's just not as simple as you may think.

Again, I am sorry for your loss. Panzertanker answered your question. You can also seek the advice of a medmal attorney.
 
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sweets53

Member
He required blood transfusions several weeks priorto surgery but there's no way to know whether he had tissue necrosis. I am also in the medical field. Do you think an attorney will consider his age, (85), in deciding whether to pursue this case?
 
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You Are Guilty

Senior Member
Ignoring the underlying merits, or lack thereof, of the claim, med mal SoL is 2.5 years from the date of the negligent treatment (unless there is a continuous course of treatment, at which point its 2.5 years from the last date of treatment), and 2 years from the date of death for a wrongful death claim.
sweets53 said:
Do you think an attorney will consider his age, (85), in deciding whether to pursue this case?
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Absolutely, but it's just one factor. You won't attract any of the "big guns" of med mal, but if there's a case (which, at that age, means some evidence of a significant period of conscious pain and suffering), you'll have your choice of the "second tier" plaintiffs' bar to choose from.
 
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ecmst12

Senior Member
They will also consider what his prognosis was due to the cancer itself. But before you would do anything else, you would need to ask a doctor who has reviewed the records would have considered him a candidate for a less invasive procedure then the one he received. Only a doctor in the appropriate specialty can render an opinion on whether it would have been appropriate under the circumstances; merely saying that "sometimes laparoscopic procedures are done for this type of cancer" does not mean anything in the context of his specific case.
 
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