Pointing the finger

[JAYDEE]

Last May I accidently cut my left index finger off on a table saw in my home in Ohio. this happened at 2:00 P.M. I was taken to my local Hospitals' Emergency room where they ran an I.V., and put some stitches in my thumb that I had also cut up. I was admitted to the Hospital at this point where I waited the better part of six hours before a specialist had arrived and I was taken to the operating room. (9:00 P.M.) Never was I told of the severity of my injury other than I had a nasty injury. I was never asked what I did for a living. I was never given any options as to what I would prefer to have done. In other words, somebody else made the decision for me, and it was not a member of my family. The finger was re-attatched. The following morning the specialist stopped in to see how i was doing and to inform me once again that I had a nasty injury. He went on to say that if it had been his finger, he would have amputated it considering the severity of the injury, not to mention that if a person would have to loose a finger, the index finger is the most expendable of the five digits. I knew the severity of the injury because I was there when it happened. Had I been given a choice, I would have elected to amputate it. Now I am left with a finger that will not function properly without at least one more surgery. It has very little feeling, and the circulation is poor at best. My occupation and my hobby has me outdoors the majority of the time. My finger turns purple and gets very cold on a daily basis, not to mention it gets in the way all the time because I can not bend it. I am not only worried about getting it caught in something and doing damage all over again, but there is also the possibility of getting a real bad case of frost bite and causing another problem yet, such as Gangreen. Does a patient have any rights to make their own decisions on something such as this? Do you feel that I have a case to sue for Malpractice? Thank you for any advise you can give me!

 

[PamSJS]

Did you sign a surgical permit authorizing the surgeon to re-attach the finger? If so, you made the choice, not the hospital staff, doctor, or anyone else. If you did not want the finger re-attached, all you had to do was refuse to sign the surgical permit.

You have no legal claim.

Pam

 

[lawrat]

I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.

If they didn't inform you of side effects of keeping versus amputating the finger, you might have a case. If I were you, I would seek the advice of a medical malpractice attorney in your state, some offer free consultations.

Try http://www.attorneypages.com

 

[PamSJS]

Generally, in most states, the surgical or operative permit must state the surgery to be performed, possible side effects, i.e., infection, loss of use, etc. It also must say what the outcome will be if you refuse the surgical procedure.

You need to get a copy of your records from the hospital and look very closely at the surgical permit. More than likely, all of this was detailed in the consent you signed authorizing the surgeon to perform the surgery.

Pam

 

[JAYDEE]

To Pam SJS, and Lawrat; Thank you for your advise. I will be visiting my Hospital to look up my records. I do not recall signing any consent for an operation, and there was no one else there at that time that could have been able to do so in my behalf. I will let you know the outcome. Thank you again! Respectfuly, JAYDEE.