A vent - People who are telling me to "sue!"

Thanks everyone for your replies.


LOL @ drafter!!! I am doing that if I hear it again today!! That is the perfect response.

Hey Leia, I'm so glad to hear you are fine now. I think you are right to follow your heart. If you felt you were truly neglected and your doctor's inexperience caused the problem, then ok. You obviously don't feel that way. One thing my doctor explained to me pre-op was that all of our anatomies are different. Our body habitus is different. Our parts might be in the general vicinity, but they may not be the same. Veins and arteries may be wacky from one person to the next. And as it's been mentioned already, sometimes bad things happen even in the best of care. To me, this situation does not at all warrant a lawsuit. I know that I had to sign a waiver, which was basically a form proving my understanding of the risks of this surgery. (I had a TAH.) So, if I were to turn around and sue, could I have really won anything anyway?

Where your doctor put forth all that extra effort to come and check on you at the 2nd hospital shows me that she cared an awful lot about you and your well being. There aren't a lot of people who would do that.

Again, glad you are doing better now. Soon, you will be able to put all of this behind you.

Glad you are physically and emotionally better. Tell your coworkers to stuff themselves! It's that litigous attitude that makes healthcare costs so high. If you are in a good place with your surgeon then don't let these shallow minded nits bother you.
Take care, Laura

I agree with drafter29......If you are satisfied in your heart, that should be good enough for everyone.

Here's an example of when there was negligence and we could have sued and didn't. when our daughter was in 7th grade, she fell through a trap door in the stage floor at school. She fell 5ft. down onto chunky rocks, missing a metal chair and steam pipe. this was backstage and in the dark. there was some renovation work going on and the electrician had left the whole open, with no fall protection around it......a big no-no in OSHA's book. and to make matters worse, The teachers knew it was open and still demanded that the light's be turned off back stage as not to interfere with rehearsal. the kids didn't even know about it.

I took DD to the Dr. the next morning and they took x-rays. she was bruised all the way up her right side and sore for several days.You could even see the impressions of the rocks in her skin.

I called the School superintendent and OSHA to file a complaint. Outcome of all this.....
The teachers lied about the lights being out and the kids not knowing

The contractor took a picture of fall protection at the location. what was funny about this was that the fall protection was mounted onto the trap door....you could clearly see it in the picture.

The teacher retaliated against our daughter by constantly being mean to her in class and at rehearsal. The teacher also verbally attacked me the day after the accident..... even after I told her that it was the contractor's fault.

The Superintendent of schools said we had every right to sue and should. So did many others when they found out what happened.

The contractor's insurance company called to discuss a settlement. Since the school's insurance covered the medical expenses, the only thing I asked to be reimbursed for was a day's missed work to take DD to the Dr.

According to NY law, because I wasn't the one injured, my lost wages couldn't be reimbursed....even though my child was a minor and 1. couldn't drive herself to the Dr. and 2. because she was a minor, she needed a parent to approve her treatment.

I told the insurance lady what my day's wage was. Because it was an uneven amount, she said they would question it and probably deny it because they knew it would be for wages. I told them that that's what my wages were and that's all I was asking for....if they wanted to round up the number to an acceptable amount , fine, but they would have to make that decision. they sent me a check for a rounded up amount.

The contractor was fined by OSHA and I'm thinking the teacher got her hand slapped.

What bothered me the most about this was the teachers lying, making my daughter look bad. I found out about it because since I reported the violation to OSHA, they cc'd me on all reports related to the case. thankfully I was allowed to rebut the teachers' statements. you know how hard it is to tell OSHA that the teachers lied without coming right out and saying they lied?

Even though we could have sued and won, Hubby and I decided that we only wanted to be reimbursed for any uncovered expenses. And quite honestly, you can't put a price on the emotional pain this situation caused our daughter.....which was far worse than the physical pain.

Bottom line, we have to do what's right in our hearts regardless of what others say.

As others have said, if you are satisfied, you should not sue. If you sue or even threaten to sue, your doctor's insurance premium will increase and she could even lose coverage. Further, that "easy money" is paid for by everyone who has to bear the higher prices that result from a business having to pay on a claim.

There is a place for litigation: if your doctor was negligent and needs to be sued to be stopped from hurting someone else; if your doctor was negligent and you incurred costs as a result, you should be reimbursed. But if you are one of the unfortunate people who has to deal with a risk of surgery which didn't result from negligence (and since nicking a blood vessel is a disclosed risk, it can't always be from negligence), litigation isn't the answer. I'm an attorney and I believe in the power of litigation, but it can be abused or misused, and it is never "easy money."

I'm very impressed by your ability to see the whole picture and be compassionate about your doctor's situation. Too bad your co-workers, who didn't even suffer as a result, can't be so compassionate.

I think that is part of the problem in this world, people are so quick to try to make a buck. I'd understand & sympathize if you had a financial problem or ongoing medical issues as a result, but if you don't all you're doing is making the cost of everything go up for everybody. Those people who tell you to sue will be the first ones to complain how expensive doctor & hospital bills are. Why are they, because they have to cover these costs. My opinion, if you are OK, drop it.
As someone metioned above, I'm sure they do feel terribly guilty about it.

Good Luck in YOUR decision.

hi,

i'm sorry you had to go through that but glad you are alright now. i don't hink it's just that simple. a hospital is not just going to give you 10k, they have to realize that they are at fault. if not the case will go to court and you would only be granted monies if the doctor's actions were considered negligent. do you think the doctor was negligent, if so go for it. if not unfortunatley it was just one of those things that happen. we live in a very sue conscious society and some people sue others as a side job. i think you should do what you think is the right thing to do. (just my opinion)

take care and good healing

Politely tell your co-workers to leave it alone. If they don't tell them not so politely and then tell them you'll take it to HR for harassment If they don't stop.

I'm happy you are alive and well. My surgeon has be practicing for 30 years and I know he had genuine concern when I was coming out of surgery and my vitals dropped. I don't think he got much sleep that night. I was the one post op patient not encouraged to get up and walk.

I wouldn't want to ruin anyone's career and personally, I think it's a shame when so many people do decide to sue. Nobody wins, rates go up and it's a hayday for lawyers.

I agree with previous posters, it's major surgery. So many things can go wrong. The best surgeons have things go wrong and it's not a fault/no fault issue. It simply is. We understand that when we go in to surgery.

Personally, I'm glad to be done with it and I'm glad you are too. I'm glad you were in all the right places at all the right time with all the right people to help you through an awful experince.

Enjoy your peace! Maybe those two co-workers are on the rag!!! LOL

I am not a "sue" happy person either. I do believe there are instances that people are deserved of such a thing, but I also believe that some people in our society views such opportunities as a means of financial gains. You have said it all in your post and could not have said it any better. You have to trust your gut and follow your heart. You will know what the right thing to do is. Remember what comes around goes around...if you offer forgiveness and grace..you shall receive it as well!