Over the last couple of months we have been contacted by individuals in Maryland, and other states, regarding injury during colonoscopy.
One of the main questions is, “if the doctor injured me is this automatically medical malpractice?”
More than likely if you are reading this educational article or watching the corresponding video, you are wondering the same thing.
SO WHAT’S THE SHORT ANSWER?
The short answer to the question is no, it will not automatically be medical malpractice if you have suffered an injury in these types of cases.
To help you understand one of the critical issues your lawyer will be analyzing, we will present you with an example.
PATIENT #1
Patient 1 goes to the doctor to have a colonoscopy performed.
During the procedure the doctor “nicks” the patient.
The doctor does not notice the injury, completes the procedure and sends the patient home.
Days later the patient is still in pain and the patient’s abdomen begins to swell.
Because of this the patient contacts the doctor and informs him of not only the severe pain the patient is suffering from, but the swelling of his abdomen.
The doctor shoots down all of the patient’s concerns and essentially brushes the patient off.
Days later the patient is rushed to the emergency room and there it is found that the patient had become septic and has suffered serious complications.
PATIENT #2
Patient number 2 has the same procedure done above but here is the difference.
The patient is “nicked” during the procedure and sent home.
Feeling some pain, the patient contacts the doctor right away.
This time this doctor listens to all of the patient’s complaints and tells the patient to come in right away.
Once the patient is back at the hospital the “nick” is discovered and properly repaired.
The patient recovers nicely and suffers no long term injury.
CAN YOU SEE IT?
In the two examples above, the actions of the doctors were totally different.
One of the main areas in which your medical malpractice lawyer will be reviewing is what did the doctors do after the injury during the procedure?
In one example above the doctors did really nothing after the injury, even though the patient voiced serious concerns and complaints (that case would be a good candidate for an expert to review the standard of care).
The second example was a case in which the doctors listened to the patient, re-examined the patient and made the correct repair.
Because the doctors caught everything so fast the patient did not have any long term issues or damages (this case would probably not be a good case because the patient does not really have any long term harm or injury).
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?
If you have been injured during colonoscopy and have become septic and had serious complications, or your loved one has died because of issues stemming from a colonoscopy, this is what we invite you to do if your matter happened in Maryland.
Pick up the phone and give us a call.
It costs you nothing to call us.
We can be reached at 301-850-4832.
We answer Maryland medical malpractice questions like yours all the time and we would be glad to listen to your story.
