Is this cause for a law suit 10 points !!!PLEASE HELP ?

Question

Four years ago my boyfriend got into a accident that broke his femur and shattered his knee. Since then he as gone through 4 surgeries and 4 years of horrible pain. Every time we asked the doctor that has been working on his knee from the beginning all he would say is “well it was a bad accident and you are going to be in pain”.

My boyfriend decided to go to a highly reputable physical therapist starting 2 weeks ago and within a few minutes of the physical therapist just touching his knee the therapist said he was missing his ACL.

The ACL is one of four main part of the knee that connects to the femur. Those are the two damaged areas from his accident and the doctor that has done all his past surgeries has never mentioned an ACL damaged or missing.

The physical therapist is basically disgusted by the fact that the doctor has allowed my boyfriend to walk around in pain for the past four years which has been caused my a missing ACL.

The main doctor has now moved out of state .

I feel so angry because 4 years of pain has been pin pointed by something that could have been fixed. My boyfriend has such bad pain that he cant work all the time his knee is always swollen, now having back problems and he is only 27!!!

If anyone has experience or tips is this cause for a lawsuit and if so how do we go about filling it, finding an attorney and so forth. We are not sue happy, I feel this doctor should not be allowed to treat any one after allowing my boyfriend to live a life of pain.

Thank you if you can help

More about the ACL: http://www.aclsolutions.com/theacl_1.php

Answer 1

First, collect as much information as you can, medical records,x-rays,MRI's, diagnostic tests, names of doctors, anything even remotely to do with his surgery. The number of times he saw the doctor previous to his surgery. Just means any and all records for this injury. Then either ask or call to make an appointment with a lawyer would specializes in Medical Mal Practice. Ask if the lawyer has a free consultaion,just to look over your evidence and paper work.Try and visit at least two lawyers to get accurate opinions.Then after you've been told you have a case, choose which lawyer will best defend your boyfriend. And,, try and ask if you are entitled to some compensation since you were the caregiver for him during his injury,pain and suffering.Many times courts will award a spouse or girl friend in your case money, because you were kinda directly involved in his care for the injury, and you possibly were the only  financial support he had when he could not work.Please include the findings of this therapist also. Best of Luck.

Answer 2

From a lawyer.  Each state has their own statute of limitations.  In which state did the accident happen?

Answer 3

you and your bf are fools.

first, the doctor explained about the acl.

2nd, your bf is responsible for his own body, not the doctor. he can ask questions.

3rd, the acl is not "missing" - it may have been repaired, or replaced even with another ligament during the surgery, but his leg would be flapping if it wasn't there at all.

4th, how does the pt know what is there an what isn't without seeing the xrays from after the last surgery?

5th, if you are not happy with your doctor or the pain treatment, see another doctor! get another opinion.

Major ACL injuries are serious and they have lifetime effects. No way no one told this to your BF, and you shouldn't believe him,

I do believe he is in pain though - he should seek out a doctor to assist.

and he should ask a ton of questions this time!

if there is a suit, it has nothing to do with the doctor, it has to do with the proximate cause of the accident, which you didn't mention.

Answer 4

yes. if he worked on your boyfriend"s leg for 4yrs then you could sue him for negligence. it means he didnt do a good job.

Answer 5

This appears to be a clear case of malpractice by the doctor (moving out of state will not keep the doctor from being sued).

Your boyfriend needs to contact a personal injury attorney ASAP.

You can look one up directly in the yellow pages or find the number for your local lawyer referral service, if you do not know one.  

Answer 6

First of all, an ACL doesn't just disappear.  Unless he just never had one to begin with, it's there someplace.  I wouldn't expect a therapist to have opened him up, the surgeon should have noticed it being absent during surgery.  

Bottom line on that, I'd get another opinion.  You have to know PRECISELY where the doctor screwed up, and I wouldn't base it on a therapist that says the ACL is missing.  I'll bet it isn't.  Damaged, maybe, disconnected, possibly, but it's there somewhere.  The question is, why isn't it where it is supposed to be. For that, you need a doctor, not a therapist.

You want an attorney that does Medical Malpractice.  Your time limit to sue MAY be timed from when you learned of the Malpractice, or may be timed from the last treatment by that doctor. I don't know, but you want to get moving.  The only impact of him being out of state is a problem of Service, but odds are good the clinic he worked for is around, and the liability of the Malpractice Insurance isn't from the date of suit, it's the date of occurrence.

See new doctor.  See Malpractice lawyer (go to Martindale-Hubbel on the web).  

Answer 7

Contact a personal injury attorney where you live and go from there.  He would still be able to file a suit as he has ongoing pain and suffering from the original care, but I have to tell you medical malpractice is very hard to prove and even harder to win.

If the large PI firms don't want it, it's because they don't want to put their money into a case they probably won't get any $$ back from, they're all about the Benjamins.  Call more than one and have a copy of the medical records handy for them to review.

Answer 8

You should definitely contact a lawyer and describe what has happened.  Legal action may indeed be appropriate.  Call a lawyer.