Suing the hospital ? Doctors stopped performing the surgery when their equipment broke down.?

Question

Hi, couple of days ago I had varicose veins laser surgery in a hospital. The doctors put me out and started performing the procedure. When i woke up I was told that the surgery did not go according to the plan. Here is what happened : they put me out, they made cuts, one of them quite big on my leg, they inserted the laser stick in and.. the machine broke down. They stopped, stitch up the cuts , let me go home, gave me painkillers. Now my leg is all red , swollen and in pain. Blood keeps coming out the wound. I`m in a h**l lot of pain, can`t work and waiting for next Thursday when they will do the operation again.

Should the laser be checked before putting me out and cutting my leg ? Can I sue the hospital ? Thank you for your answers .

Answer 1

Although hospital equipment is checked regularly, sometimes machines do break down. This not necessarily due to negligence. If they had gone ahead with the surgery even though their equipment wasn't working properly, THAT would have been negligent.  

Answer 2

I would think that if you do sue, their eqipment insurance should cover such an eventuality.

Answer 3

In this day & time, you can sue anyone.

In order to win, you'd have to prove that :

1) the machine had a history of problems & hadn't been serviced

2) it was used incorrectly

3) the maker's instructions weren't followed

If the machine simply failed during the procedure, you probably are out of luck.

Sorry about your experience.

Answer 4

Whilst I don't work for a hospital I do work at a hospital.

I can only say that in my experience of a NHS hospital there are regular and thorough checks of equipment.

Sometimes stuff just breaks down.

I can't believe that anyone would try to conduct your operation knowing or being reckless as to if the equipment was faulty.

It is obviously very painful and inconvenient but I would be surprised if there was anyone who was incompetent.

I can't really give an opinion if you were going private though, some of the tales I have heard about private medicine make my toes curl..

Answer 5

I feel so sorry for you.

I do not know the exact answer to your question although you would think that it would be policy to check all equipment before it is used.

Maybe you need to speak to someone in the legal profession about it.

Answer 6

i'd wait and see how the operation goes on thursday before doing anything. it wasn't their fault the laser broke, that would be the company who made the laser.if they fix it on thursday, then everything will be okay and what's the point in suing. receive a bit of money from the very people who were trying to help you in the first place? seems a bit childish really

Answer 7

You can't prove that the laser just didn't break down after they checked it prior to operation so I think it is unlikely you will be able to sue.

My second question would be why would you want to? I don't think you would be highlighting negligence. Sometimes these things happen and there is no one to blame.

Varicose vein surgery is incredibly painful as the veins are near to the surface of the skin where lots of nerve endings lie. Make sure you take regular painkillers and ask for stronger ones if necessary.

Lightening shouldn't strike twice so good luck next week.

Answer 8

Would you sue a car manufacturer/supplier if your car broke down!  Well only if negligence of the supplier or repairer can be proven. The same applies top your case but this does not sound to me like negligence - just an unfortunate breakdown.