D
DISILLUSIONED
Guest
I live in IL and have a current medical negligence/malpractice suit against 3 surgeons, 2 nurses and a hospital which was filed in 7/98; contracted w/attorney 12/96; occurrence 7/96. To date, 2 critical depositions still remain, 8 already disposed in just the last 4 months excluding mine which was taken in 11/99. Most recently, 4/5/02, one surgeon was deposed by telephone and my attorney seemed unprepared and easily rattled, frustrated, and aggravated by the surgeon being deposed. To say the least, I was unhappy with his performance which actually put the "icing on the cake" due to his lack of performance, aggression, knowledge, and accountability thus far. I have had an uneasy feeling about his actions and lack of for the last 3 years and have addressed this on several occasions verbally and in writing. I have asked his several times if this case was too big for him, if he needed assistance, would like to remove himself from the case or have me hire co-counsel to which he has repeatedly replied that he feels he can handle the case even though he has repeatedly told me it is the biggest case he or his firm has ever handled.
I had bi-lateral hip replacements in 5 & 7/96 with the latter failing due to internal bleeding, an 18" hematoma which tangled and compressed the sciatic nerve causing an onset of tremendous pain which was infected with pseudomonas. I had been put on a high or "loading" dose of 7.5 mg of coumadin and utlimately my protime and INR levels were significantly elevated and the coumadin was held. I went into the surgeon's office on two occasions 8/2/96 and 8/6/96 and basically was turned away and my concerns, with the exception of the 8/6/ visit with another surgeon in the practice who pacified me with a prescription of Keflex. On 8/8/96 I was told by the home health care nurse to continue holding the coumadin and to eat a lot of "greens" to bring my level down, just a few hours later, I suffered this onsent of tremendous pain and was taken by ambulance to the emergency room of the hospital named in my suit.
On 8/9/96, yet another surgeon from the practice was treating mefrom the point of my arrival in er on 8/8, took aspirations from the hip which ultimately diagnosed the infection. I was taken to surgery on 8/10/96 for a 30 minute procedure which took over 5 hours, tremendous blood loss (5 units of blood pooled in my hip in addition to the 18" bloodclot) and came very close to death.
My hip had to be removed, a cement spacer was put in twice which was filled with an antiobiotic and I was sent home to lie in bed without a hip until mid-January, 1997, while connecting my own antiobiotics to a groshong which was placed through entry in the front of my left shoulder and fed out between my breasts in order to administer antibiotics 3 times per day at home until mid-January, 1997.
To date, I have had 5 surgical procedures on the right hip, the original hip, a revised hip, the muscle, tissues, etc. were carved out of my buttocks, hip and thigh to the point I have an excessively long and deep "ditch", I have sciatica nerve damage, drop foot, lower spine deterioration, 22 dislocations of both hips (total of 44), and other residuals caused from the complications of my right hip replacement performed on 7/26/96.
I have no idea when this case will go to court, nor any idea of the worth of this case, not even a ballpark figure and the most frustrating and maddening issue is an attorney who hasn't done much work on the case, doesn't return phone calls or respond to correspondence, questions, etc. and has had me develop questions posed during interrogatories, discoveries, and depositions.
I have been praying for a sign in regard to whether or not this late in the game I should terminate my current attorney's services and hire another attorney and I feel I got that sign at this last deposition. I am gunshy at this point and don't know whether or not I would be able to obtain expert counsel given the length of time this case has been ongoing. I have attempted to set up a meeting with my attorney to discuss this last deposition to get his opinion on howhe felt it went, to give him my feelings and ask what his strategy was and will be throughout the rest of the case but I can't get a return phone call.
Please help!
I had bi-lateral hip replacements in 5 & 7/96 with the latter failing due to internal bleeding, an 18" hematoma which tangled and compressed the sciatic nerve causing an onset of tremendous pain which was infected with pseudomonas. I had been put on a high or "loading" dose of 7.5 mg of coumadin and utlimately my protime and INR levels were significantly elevated and the coumadin was held. I went into the surgeon's office on two occasions 8/2/96 and 8/6/96 and basically was turned away and my concerns, with the exception of the 8/6/ visit with another surgeon in the practice who pacified me with a prescription of Keflex. On 8/8/96 I was told by the home health care nurse to continue holding the coumadin and to eat a lot of "greens" to bring my level down, just a few hours later, I suffered this onsent of tremendous pain and was taken by ambulance to the emergency room of the hospital named in my suit.
On 8/9/96, yet another surgeon from the practice was treating mefrom the point of my arrival in er on 8/8, took aspirations from the hip which ultimately diagnosed the infection. I was taken to surgery on 8/10/96 for a 30 minute procedure which took over 5 hours, tremendous blood loss (5 units of blood pooled in my hip in addition to the 18" bloodclot) and came very close to death.
My hip had to be removed, a cement spacer was put in twice which was filled with an antiobiotic and I was sent home to lie in bed without a hip until mid-January, 1997, while connecting my own antiobiotics to a groshong which was placed through entry in the front of my left shoulder and fed out between my breasts in order to administer antibiotics 3 times per day at home until mid-January, 1997.
To date, I have had 5 surgical procedures on the right hip, the original hip, a revised hip, the muscle, tissues, etc. were carved out of my buttocks, hip and thigh to the point I have an excessively long and deep "ditch", I have sciatica nerve damage, drop foot, lower spine deterioration, 22 dislocations of both hips (total of 44), and other residuals caused from the complications of my right hip replacement performed on 7/26/96.
I have no idea when this case will go to court, nor any idea of the worth of this case, not even a ballpark figure and the most frustrating and maddening issue is an attorney who hasn't done much work on the case, doesn't return phone calls or respond to correspondence, questions, etc. and has had me develop questions posed during interrogatories, discoveries, and depositions.
I have been praying for a sign in regard to whether or not this late in the game I should terminate my current attorney's services and hire another attorney and I feel I got that sign at this last deposition. I am gunshy at this point and don't know whether or not I would be able to obtain expert counsel given the length of time this case has been ongoing. I have attempted to set up a meeting with my attorney to discuss this last deposition to get his opinion on howhe felt it went, to give him my feelings and ask what his strategy was and will be throughout the rest of the case but I can't get a return phone call.
Please help!
