Question for lawyers: Being billed for a preventable surgical error?
I know a friend who has a parent who’s being billed for a second surgery.
The first surgery was to put a ***** in to piece together the bones of a broken arm, BUT the surgeon put in the wrong size *****. Thus, the second surgery became necessary to take out the original ***** and put the one of correct size in place of it.
It’s basically medical malpractice. It doesn’t seem right that the family should have to pay for something that was totally preventable and 100% the fault of the surgical team. I mean, if they cut something wrong or whatever then it would have been fine because it’s probably in the fine print of the consent form for the surgery, but putting in the wrong size *****?? I mean… if construction workers did that with houses or pipes… or electricians used the wrong wires, people who suffered undered them shouldn’t have to pay for their mistakes.
This family does not have health insurance so they’re paying a lot out of their own pockets (yes, I already know it was dumb of them not to have it).
Oh, and the parents run a restaurant together. The business DEPENDS on both parents. It would not survive long without both of them working. So while recovering from the second surgery, he was out for about an extra week (by company policy) during which the mom had difficulty running the place herself. If there wasn’t a second surgery, they would have been a bit better off economically.
It’s been about half a year since this surgery took place, but could they sue or is there a billing error with this situation? Should they just pay everything?
Any law students or preferably experienced laywers who have a say about this?
(Please don’t give me advice on this if you don’t have concrete information or a personal experience- I don’t need a sympathetic opinion, I need helpful advice)
Tagged with: Extra • Medical Malpractice • Parents
Filed under: Law & Ethics
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brighton electric
No sympathy here, OK! What you should have done when the error was found – was to get hold of an attorney and filed a malpracice suit! The doctor screwed up (pardon the pun!) and the patient should NOT have had to pay for the corrective surgery! CORRECTIVE IS THE KEY WORD!! I would still file a law suit on it, That’s if the hospital and doctor refuses to eat their mistake!! Sometimes, a little note from an attorney could take care of this situation. Hospitals don’t like bad publicity, nor do doctor’s. Their insurance rates will go up!
brighton electrical
Ask the government to cover it or threaten to declare bankruptcy and not pay taxes. You Americans need public health insurance. Sue the government.
brighton electrics
It’s not too late to retain an attorney. Generally you have up to 2 years, but it varies by state.
My father died during surgery (malpractice) and I can assure you that we got and paid all the bills through a combination of insurance and co-payments.
My mother recovered damages (out of court settlement). These people need to consult with an attorney who specialized in medical malpractice. Only such an attorney can judge whether or not they have a valid case.
sussex electrician
Medicine is not an exact science. Mistakes sometimes happen to even the best surgeons in the world. No one is perfect. People expect doctors to be perfect 100% of the time, but no one is – not even doctors.
The bottom line is you are going to have to pay to have the surgery. You can go back later and sue the surgeon if you want. But in the meantime, just have the second surgery done – what else can you do? I would have the surgery and get better first before I would worry about running out and filing a lawsuit so I can cash in on an honest mistake.