Medical malpractice for losing colon?

mmm no... when I was first told I was going to need to have a total colectomy I thought about this, because in my delusion I was thinking I would get better, and cotors just wanted to do the "easy route" and get rid of my colon because I had  been in the hospital too long (3 months, very expensive hospital I mustve costed my insurance a nice ammount of money).
But after 24 hours I realized the surgery was going to save my my life. So in my case, I really did need it, and doctors tried everything, but my bleeding was uncontrollable. 

Nope. 

Mine was. Elective surgery. 

And you do sign consent forms that protect the hospital surgeon. 

Sure. 

Had I stayed on remicsde.... Which I add worked well.... And not been told to get off it for a hernia surgery and finding out later I didn't have to get off it after having it work so well. But that was way in the past. I have no regrets. Remicsde would have stopped working at some point probably and I'd still be where I am. 

Nothing in this battle is 100 percent a sure thing.  

R. 

UC is an ugly disease. Even if you had gone through biologics there is no guarantee that you would still have your colon. My son went through 2 high dollar medications had a perforation and had his colon removed 3 months ago. I personally don’t think you have a case. 

@CMLSucks posted:

Even if you had gone through biologics there is no guarantee that you would still have your colon. 

That's really the key question here.  The articulation by the OP about the severity and rapidity of her disease process leads me to believe that the answer to this question is very very iffy, and a good med mal defense attorney has a field day with questions like this.  Biologics are not a panacea that work magic in every case, they are themselves iffy treatments with potentially serious complications. I happen to be an attorney and I have some limited experience with medical malpractice litigation, and many/most potential claims get scared off because of the huge expenses involved.  In Connecticut you need a good faith certificate that medical malpractice has occurred, from a similar specialist, before you can even get into court, and that medical opinion will likely cost you $5000 or more. And even if the answer is "no", the $5,000+ is owed to the independent medical expert. Most people run the other way when they hear they might be on the hook for such an expense - before even knowing whether they can proceed.  So it's a "put your money where your mouth is" situation here, and from what I have seen, a lot of people just cannot or will not do so.

@Former Member posted:

Hi

Has anyone filed a medical malpractice case for losing their colon? If yes, what was your experience?

It’s not that you’re the most unluckiest person on this site; it’s probably because we’ve experienced so many debilitating flare ups, that once we’ve recovered from surgery; it’s such a phenomenal relief, after years of illness, not feeling so good, even when in remission, that we finally get our life back and maybe, we don’t want to be bogged down with a lawsuit.

Pursuing such a claim; apparently, would be in the region of £60,000.

Within the Uk, the legal precedence is Bolam Law, which I assume, will be the same in the US, which means: “ Would Medical Professionals, when presented with the same symptoms as yourself, follow the same course of action as your Doctor did.”

@Former Member posted:

@Former Member

Thanks for your input. I guess if he prescribed at least steroids, or ordered a colonoscopy, then he could get away with Bolam Law.

State legal funding is provided to Counsel: which means, up to the opinion and expertise of a Barrister.

Once the Barrister reached his conclusion, Legal funding will stop.

The Barrister can reached his conclusion, despite a Doctor failing to prescribe medication, request stool samples, refer patient to Hospital and the A&E Dept Doctors can also failed to administer medication, carry out X rays or request an opinion from a GI Consultant.

Imagine how often a Barrister, funded by the state can reach a conclusion, on a daily basis and still gets paid.

You’ll need to find a pro bono Medical Negligence Lawyer or acquire means to financing your lawsuit; I’m certainly not attempting to discourage you; I’m just highlighting the possible and unforeseen pitfalls.

You’ll need to also confirm whether Bolam Law is a legal precedent within the US, before exploring this further.

Elif, how is your health now?  Do you have a j pouch, or a permanent ostomy?

@Winterberry I am now 5 months post takedown. I had 3 step surgery, and no serious complications with the surgeries. Everything seems to be going on the normal track. Currently, I am awaiting curiously for my first bout of pouchitis.

@Former Member posted:

Hi Sofi

My situation was different. I had to have to surgery because my colon could perforate anytime. I also could not believe it when I first heard it. It was such a big trauma.

As for malpractice, I progressed from just a focal inflammation in the colon, evidenced with a CT scan, to severe pancolitis -again evidenced with a CT scan- in a month. During that month, I had three visits with my GI. He did not treat me with steroids and biologics. He only gave me mesalamine for IBD.

During my last visit, which was one day before hospitalization, I was crying in his office.  He even mentions this in his records, but he simply sent me home with anti-nausea medication that day, because I had started throwing up.  I was bleeding with watery diarrhea 15 times a day, sometimes just pure red blood, I was up all night covered in sweats, throwing up, which are all in the medical records. But he just gave me mesalamine.

Now, a medical expert says, if my GI had given me high dose steroids and biologics, my colon would likely be saved. I have a meeting with my lawyer tomorrow, so I wanted to hear if anyone had a malpractice case for losing their colon. If I am the only one here with a case, I must be the most unlucky person on this site.

There would have been no way that I could have recovered all the times I did when I had UC without steroids. The reason why I now have a j pouch is because I changed doctors and his treatment was not correct. Thank god they reushed me to the Cleveland Clinic because they saved my life. I had a long reply to send to you in a private message but it wont let me send it to you..if you want me to send it in a private email let me know.

When I met with 2 attorneys they stated it was hard to prove.

The 3rd attorney was also an MD, specializing in Med. Malpractice/ Negligence. I "consulted" with her at length, showing all my evidence. She told me IF I had died I would have had a case.....BUT, since I got better and survived, no thanks to my ORIGINAL negligent surgeon, I didn't have a case. (Otherwise my husband, could have sued for my "wrongful" death.) 

Twinkie,

A medical malpractice case is just a species of negligence, and in all negligence cases an attorney must prove liability and damages. The posts in this thread are all focused on liability issues and assume "there is a case" once liability is proven. Although liability is often a hurdle in medical malpractice cases, once a standard of care is shown to be violated, the attorney must also prove damages flowing from that breach of the standard of care. 

If a client has $15,000 in provable damages and liability is really really good, an attorney may still be very reluctant to take the case if he or she has to spend $20,000 on experts- $20,000 that will come out of the client's settlement. Client is out $5K in that situation, and there is no fee for the attorney or he or she eats the fee. That's why a lot of these cases do not get taken, they aren't cost efficient unless there are significant damages. It's all about litigation economics, which means putting something in the client's pocket other than a bill for experts, AND getting a fee that recognizes the work and effort needed to achieve a settlement or judgment that also gets something for the client.

With regard to the OP's case, unless I missing something, part of proving damages is that because the standard was breached, she lost her colon, and wouldn't have lost it otherwise. I am stuck on the "wouldn't have lost it otherwise" part.  I separate that issue of the legal viability of a medical malpractice claim from the issue of bringing a complaint against the doctor for mistreating her and not attempting other treatment, which may very well be a valid and worthwhile endeavor in itself. 

I would suggest you discuss all of that with your attorney. Damages are both economic and non economic and for a jury to decide but must be proven to flow from the breach of the standard of care. My own personal opinion in living with a J Pouch for 28 years is that it saved my life. I have had a problematic pouch, chronic pouchitis, multiple pouch revision surgeries, huge costs of maintenance, but I have worked 28 years as a trial attorney, have had a good career and never missed time from work, don't regret it and don't see myself as damaged or a victim but as extremely lucky. I am lucky to have had good doctors and lucky to have had effective treatment for a difficult disease to treat. I don't see that as any damage but rather a reward, because my colon couldn't be saved. It's not clear to me that your colon would have been saved with proper treatment, and that is the tricky part in your case. You are correct- it comes down to a battle of experts in many cases, but I think your expert needs to establish that adherence to the standard of care would have saved your colon and to me that is highly speculative. Speculative testimony by experts is something that can be disallowed by the Court. I am not saying it will be, but this is what the defense will argue.  Even if the testimony is allowed, a jury is free to reject it as well when the other side presents evidence that it's speculative. This is how I would see it as a juror, but I am not going to be a juror in your case. I wish you the best with it. Perhaps you will win, but I think it will be an uphill battle.

@CTBarrister Thanks for your input. I guess this will take a long time to resolve. I will use this tread to let everyone know what happened at the end.

Yes, I do see myself as a victim. I feel this way, because multiple Drs who cared for me afterwards, some of them repeatedly, told me I was not treated properly. And now, the expert says the same. It is not possible for me not to feel like a victim.