during my c section the epidural stopped working and i was able to feel the operation and tried to get off operating table and had to have a full general anaethetic. i was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder afterwards and had to have medication and counciling. i did however have the most perfect baby and so dont know if its right to sue!
2006-11-17 02:07:41 · 40 answers · asked by Nic P 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Pregnancy
Well, you could try but i doubt you would win.
2006-11-17 02:14:07 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
No, I dont think you would have much of a case, just because its not their fault the epidural stopped working. Sometimes epidurals just dont work on people, they dont work on me at all even if they keep crank in the meds, that is why I had a spinal instead for my c-section. Also they did everything they could possibly do, the knocked you out.
I would think you could TRY to sue but not sure you would get a laywer to take the case. You only have like 2 years so if its been longer than that you are out of luck.
I tried 10 diffrent people when I tried to sue for delay of birth with my twins, they were in distress and it took them 3 hours after knowing that to deliever. Now my daughter has severe brain damage and is on a ventilator to help her breath, cant roll over or do anything at age 2. They all said that the hospital was wrong but there was no 100% way to prove that what happened to her happened in those 3 hours.
2006-11-17 02:22:58 · answer #2 · answered by Lori R 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you should consult a lawyer who specializes in this type of case.
Anesthesia is an art first and a science later. The anesthesiologist should have been present at the entire surgery and it is their JOB to watch for signs that the anesthetic is wearing off (which is actually a VERY slow process, not abrupt) and administer more.
If you are experiencing any monetary distress due to the event, yes it is absolutely right to sue. If you are mentally affected by the event, PTSD as you say, absolutely you should sue. If you just want some extra cash because you think you deserve it, then No, you shouldn't sue- that would create bad karma.
2006-11-17 02:18:20 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Just some 411... Several years ago i got pushed while I was in the bathroom and my back broke the toilet. The falling ceramic made a huge gash in my leg that required 3 layers of stitches. Now being a TOILET you know there was bacteria on there but I did not get any antibiotics. I developed a terrible infection and had to get shots and take tons of antibiotics afterwards. I went through months of terrible pain (the incesion had to be cut open and allowed to heal that way leaving a real ugly scar) and it still hurts to this day. Point is.. I did not get ,in my opinion and the opinion of several doctors, proper treatment. I sued the Dr and the hospital... GOT NOTHING!! Good luck and be thankful the didn't hurt your baby...
2006-11-17 02:22:17 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
every state's laws differ in the criteria to institute a malpractice suit; you have to meet a certain level so it isn't just file a suit; a lawsuit in itself isn't an easy road; can take years , depositions, interrogatories etc and after al of that , doesn't mean that a jury will find malpractice; it is rough legal road; in my opinion this is not a malpractice case; they corrected the problem and sometimes things happen; medicine is not a perfect science and until it is, things are going to happen; every day we learn new medical things , we are better than yesterday but we have a long way to go; that doesn't mean it is malpractice that is why there is a certain legal threshold that has to be met; in the future, you may just want to alert your medical professionals of this in case it takes longer for meds to take effect with you or your pain threshold requires higher or different meds. It was traumatic but then so is having a baby; continue with counseling if you need it and enjoy your new baby; many of us Mom's endure a lot during childbirth but you are fine , your baby is fine, look to your future and not to the past. good luck
2006-11-17 02:37:30 · answer #5 · answered by sml 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends if there was any "wrongdoing" on behalf of the hospital.
If the epidural stopped working because it was incorrectly given then you might have a case but if it was simply your body not reacting well to the drugs (some people's bodies have more resistance to drugs than others and sometimes painkillers won't work for one person but will work for another, its just down to your physiology) then you wouldn't have a case to sue, plus you'd be sueing the people who saved your life and safely delivered your lovely baby.
Seems a bit crass to me.
2006-11-17 07:14:08 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It doesn't sound like the hospital did anything wrong. It just happened, in your case, that the general guidelines for anesthetic didn't work. They can't divine how anesthetic will work for everyone. It wasn't a mistake, it was just a situation that didn't follow the norm. You know (or should know) going into surgery, or even pregnancy, that things like that can happen.
If it was due to negligence, like no one was properly monitoring your anesthetic, then you would have a case. With the info you have given, I don't see where the hospital is at fault. Still, if you feel the hospital did something wrong, you should take steps to at least make sure it doesn't happen to someone else.
2006-11-17 02:17:05 · answer #7 · answered by Phoenix, Wise Guru 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Sorry to hear your bad experience. I know you've been though a traumatic time but don't you think the hospitals are already in enough financial trouble? I'm not saying you shouldn't feel wronged, and of course lots of people do sue hospitals. The decision is up to you - if you want to get advice you should speak to CAB or your solicitor.
2006-11-17 02:15:30 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I don't know the full details, did you tell them that the epidural was wearing off? I would advise against suing as the NHS hospitals are struggling enough as it is. Your baby as you say is perfect, but imagine anything happening to her, but the hospital has no facilities to help due to lack of funds??
I'm sorry that this has happened and that you suffered, but try to move on and enjoy your beautiful baby.
2006-11-17 08:21:10 · answer #9 · answered by chelle0980 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well I would say no. I went through a similar situation. I had a c-section and my son and I were both fine. The hospital had me on a pump with morph in it so I could use it every 8 min. The hosp forgot to adjust the med to determine my correct weight from before I had my son until after. I had lost 40 lbs due to being toxic and so forth. In other words I was overdosed. Not a big deal to me b/c I was out of it. Well after 2 days of sleeping solid my Dr became worried and tried to wake me up only to realize I was building fluid up on my lungs. He then gave me Narcain to wake me up (this is given to people usually to pull them out of a drug overdose such as cocain etc...) I was suddenly awaken and felt like someone had tore my stomach open all over again and pain meds would not work on me. Well to say the least they nearly lost me the paddles were pulled out twice to shock me. Blood pressure shot up and nearly had a heart attack. All that to say this. Dr's do the best they can and if we want to keep the good dr's we are goin to have to stop sueing them in order to keep them in practice.
2006-11-17 02:35:46 · answer #10 · answered by jacket2230 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds absolutely horrifying what you went through. It was very unfortunate but they certainly didnt do it on purpose to cause you pain. And they make you sign a waiver before surgery so i dont think you would have grounds to sue. I hate to say it but i think you should just be happy that its over and that you have a healthy baby and try to get past it the best that you can.
2006-11-17 02:32:40 · answer #11 · answered by sea_sher 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋