I don't want to sue my doctor!

[Colorado Belle]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Colorado
I have a pretty clear case of malpractice but I'd rather not sue my doc. On the other hand, I'd love to sue the trespasser who caused the injury, but that may be very difficult. Here's the scoop:
Injury was caused by a neighbor who trespassed on my prop and cut down some trees and left the tools he was using to redirect my irrigation ditch lying about. i tripped and punctured my leg very badly. The doc sewed me up but didn't take an X-ray. I was bedridden for 2 weeks and then could only get around by wheel chair or crutches...it was that nasty! I'm normally very active so I was counting the days for the 6 weeks heal mark, but at 6 weeks the leg got infected, also nasty. The doc cut into the wound that had almost healed, inadvertently cut a nerve, and then discovered there was a tree in my leg lodged against the bone and a bone infection was suspected. I was farmed out to a orthopedic surgeon to take care of it. As a result the injury is still open at the 6 month mark and there's still a lot of nerve damage to my foot so I can't wear closed shoes (or ski boots or tennis shoes).
So: I don't want to sue the doc because even tho he made a huge mistake in not X-raying the injury, I think he's a good doc. But I have a very large insurance deductible (HSA) and I don't think it fair that I pay for anything after the initial sewing and follow up (nothing from the infection/tree finding forward). I have yet to talk to the doc about this, but I think I'm being reasonable.

On the other hand, I'd love to sue the neighbor who caused the injury. But I think the damages are not large enough to cause a law firm to want to handle it on a percentage basis. Especially because I was hurt on my own property...tho the cuase was definitely the trespassers tools and cut trees. (I tripped on the cut tree stub and fell on the tools left lying there.)

Any opinions as to how I should proceed?

 

[ecmst12]

Can you prove who left the tools there?

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

Personal injury attorneys often offer free consultations. Take a few up on it.

You would be suing for more than your insurance deductable anyway. It would be your total medical costs, pain & suffering, loss work time, etc.

 

[barry1817]

suing a doctor

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Colorado
I have a pretty clear case of malpractice but I'd rather not sue my doc. On the other hand, I'd love to sue the trespasser who caused the injury, but that may be very difficult. Here's the scoop:
Injury was caused by a neighbor who trespassed on my prop and cut down some trees and left the tools he was using to redirect my irrigation ditch lying about. i tripped and punctured my leg very badly. The doc sewed me up but didn't take an X-ray. I was bedridden for 2 weeks and then could only get around by wheel chair or crutches...it was that nasty! I'm normally very active so I was counting the days for the 6 weeks heal mark, but at 6 weeks the leg got infected, also nasty. The doc cut into the wound that had almost healed, inadvertently cut a nerve, and then discovered there was a tree in my leg lodged against the bone and a bone infection was suspected. I was farmed out to a orthopedic surgeon to take care of it. As a result the injury is still open at the 6 month mark and there's still a lot of nerve damage to my foot so I can't wear closed shoes (or ski boots or tennis shoes).
So: I don't want to sue the doc because even tho he made a huge mistake in not X-raying the injury, I think he's a good doc. But I have a very large insurance deductible (HSA) and I don't think it fair that I pay for anything after the initial sewing and follow up (nothing from the infection/tree finding forward). I have yet to talk to the doc about this, but I think I'm being reasonable.

On the other hand, I'd love to sue the neighbor who caused the injury. But I think the damages are not large enough to cause a law firm to want to handle it on a percentage basis. Especially because I was hurt on my own property...tho the cuase was definitely the trespassers tools and cut trees. (I tripped on the cut tree stub and fell on the tools left lying there.)

Any opinions as to how I should proceed?

If a doctor treats you in a manner that is below the standard of care, and if you can prove it, then you need to seek a lawyer to discuss this with. From what you have written it sounds like you might have a strong case.

You trip and fall on your own property causing your injury. You are injured, and claim damages, but with reasonable care you heal quickly with no problems, not much of a case. But the medical situation exasperated the problem.

 

[Colorado Belle]

I understand what you're saying Barry, but this personal ethics of mine, weird as it is, wants to only sue the bad guys...even if it is harder. Here, the bad guy is a neighbor who is just a mean spirited bigot and he is repeatedly on my property and gets vicious. (he even kicked his dog who was playing with my dog ).

True, the doctor's negligence made the problem worse. Otherwise, i probalby would have been healed at the 8 week mark and with less nerve damage. Still would have missed the entire summer and tennis...which I kinda live for up here at 9700 feet (short summers).

Can I prove the tools were his? Yes, because I had a digital recorder proving that the day before when he left his tools there, a neighbor and her horse picked them up and brought them to the house telling me I shouldn't let my tools about as her horse almost tripped....that day, neighbor came knocking on my door saying I'd stolen his tools and he was calling the sheriff. I gave him the tools back and asked him nicely to please cease and desist unless he could get written authorization from our homeowners association to cut down trees on my property. So I think I can prove the tools were his but what I might not be able to prove is that I fell ON them or By them as while I was hospitalized, he 'sanitized' the scene (he even raked! ) . Of course if it got to the jury I believe they would empathize especially if he testified as he is just a grouchy old man (not that old!). I'm 60 and sure don't appear to be a person who'd file a suit just to get money. This neighbor actually filed a TRO against ME on my own property after my fall...said I interfered with his cutting down trees and installing a black pipe to prevent the water in the ditch from irrigating my meadow (which is covenant protected.) So there i was bedridden and a sheriff served me with TRO! Trust that I am officially driven .

Yes, I understand that most personal injury attorneys offer free consult and usually take a case on %, but since this is small potatoes (20k) I heard back from two of them that it isn't really worth their time unless it's a 100k + case.

 

[ecmst12]

I think the chances of you successfully suing your neighbor are slim. The fact that lawyers don't want to represent you is evidence of that. TONS of PI lawyers will take cases worth less then $100k, but they're not going to want to do $100k of work for a $20k payout. A case that small would have to be clear cut and easily proven.

 

[petomane]

A piece of "tree" wouldn't be visible on x-ray

 

[Colorado Belle]

Actually that isn't true. The very large (as big as my thumb) tree would show up as the 'suspect' slivers did show after the tree was removed and the leg was xrayed. So did the indent in the bone that the tree was resting against and which caused a lot of concern re bone infection which also shows up as an 'indent' in the bone.

I was banished to an orthopod whom they wanted to cut and search but I persuaded him to try an MRI first. (It was very painful when they pulled it out...felt like they were pulling out my bone and then they cut a nerve and I levitated off the table for a full minute. The orthopod did a digital Xray and decided that there were no more trees but that indeed it might be a bone infection so they'd antibiotic me up and wait and see.

What I was told by the lawyer was that the money invested in getting depositions would't be recouped in the % of amount of my claim which I figured would be 8k medical and 12k losses (I'm retired so no work was missed). And there is the concern that since it was on my own property that the claim would be much harder, even tho it was all caught on the recorder.
I'll call some local attorneys instead of the 'big' boys in Denver. I've really only talked to 2.

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

I had a small claim against a neighbor. I could have taken it to small claims and taken the difference as a loss, but I knew I could never get anything to pay my medical bills unless I forced neighbor to involve his insurance company. So I called around until I found a PI firm with a new lawyer needing to build up his case load.

 

[Colorado Belle]

Good idea Ozarks...How did it turn out?

 

[Zigner]

See, the problem is that your neighbor won't be responsible for the extra costs associated with the doc's screw-up...the doc would be.

 

[Colorado Belle]

Thanks Zigner,
Do you mean that I'd have to disclose the doc's screw up ? Of course I realize I just did here on the internet for all the world to see...but would I be legally bound to disclose that there was a screwup as it wouldn't be ascertainable from the medical records themselves.

 

[ecmst12]

Neighbors' insurance company lawyers would find out for themselves when they got your medical records. But the question is still the proximate cause of the entire injury.

 

[LAWMED]

See, the problem is that your neighbor won't be responsible for the extra costs associated with the doc's screw-up...the doc would be.

NOT TRUE! If the neighbor is found to be the cause of the injury then they are liable for EVERYTHING, including the costs/damages create by medical treatment even if that treatment is negligent. This is because 'but for' the injury caused by the neighbor the medical treatment would never have been required and the neighbor is the proximate cause of everything that resulted. The physician MAY be added to a lawsuit for the portion of damages from the medical care but it is not required. The neighbor can be held liable for it all.

You say that he trespassed on your property, cut down trees and redirected an irrigation ditch. Have you talked to him about this? The argument of proof of course would be that other than your neighbor no persons would do such a thing. Of course other than you. Take pictures (of the property area in question...and your leg).

 

[Colorado Belle]

I have proof of who caused the damage on my digital recorder along with the accident itself and the drive to the hospital.

I DID have photos of the leg then, but no longer..on my cell phone which broke a few a weeks ago and they couldn't get anything off of it. I sent the cell phone photos to my kid and sis but they deleted them long ago.

I've decided to pursue a suit against neighbor IF I can find an attoreny willing to handle it. I will not sue my doc .

thanks for all your replies.