what should i do? while having my tubes untied the nurse stuck herself and bled inside me. can i sue?

Question

they tested us both for diseases during my surgery but what if something shows up later?

aids takes a while to show up. she had gloves but was giving me numbing medication and it went through the gloves.

its bad because as soon as she stuck herself she should have got away from me so our blood didnt mix. she kept working.

it happened in TN. the doctor told me before i was discharged.

Answer 1

How do you know this? Did the nurse admit it?

Sounds to me like you need to talk to a LOCAL malpractice attorney - nobody with any real knowledge can answer your question based on the information provided (don't even know what state you are in!).

No matter what the attorney says (don't get discouraged if the first one, or the 5th one says "no case"as it doesn't sound like a big case to me unless you get ill), - make the nurse get tested for blood borne pathogens and show you the results in writing. You need to get tested, too, now and in 6 months.

Don't say anything to anybody, esp the nurse or the other staff at the doctor's office, beyond "I want to see the nurse's written test results for blood borne pathogens ASAP".

If you are distressed enough, seeing a psycd would not hurt, either.

Answer 2

obviously if the nurse was tested and was clean you will be OK... also, how would you prove that you contracted anything from that exchange at a later date anyhow? You could contract things from many other activities in everyday life. Besides... do you realize how many germs and "other things" (we'll leave it at that as not to scare you) breath in or come in contact with every day?

I would have to agree with the other answer... don't look for a reason to sue... it only makes things more expensive and taxes the system.. If there is a legitimate reason resulting in harm to you... then you do have the right to go after them and I would.

Remember this though.... medical science is not an exact science. Nurses and Doctors put their lives on the line everyday as well dealing with people that get "sick" on them or they have diseases or they squirt blood on them and the list goes on of the contact made... yet they hang in there and treat the patient, however, does the doctor or nurse have the right to sue you if they "catch" something from you while performing a medical procedure?

Answer 3

If something shows up later.. I'm sure you can, and you should... but why would you want to sue now if you are fine.. to make medical go up more for everyone else... That's the great thing about Americans now a days.. they are sue happy- just like the man that wants $65 million for a pair of pants

Answer 4

If something shows up later, you can definitely sue. And if the nurse also tests positive for that, you will most likely win. But I'm sure as a precaution, that hospital tested for everything that could possibly be there (just so you couldn't try and sue later). So I'm sure you are fine.

Answer 5

Nothing will show up later! If you sue, there goes another insurance premium up through the roof. As long as you are OK, no damage done, I don't think you should sue.

What if you were the nurse, would you feel it was the right thing someone sued you over this?

(Although by your name, it looks like you've already made this decision.)

Answer 6

You can only sue if you end up with a disease that she gave to you. If that doesn't happen, you have no loss. No loss = no grounds for lawsuit.

Answer 7

You need to be retested in 6 mo. And I would consult a lawyer. This is accidental yet blatant malpractice.

Answer 8

if something later shows up, yes i believe you can sue. wasn't she wearing gloves?

Answer 9

if somthing comes up, you could probably sue, only if you have evidence that it was from the nurses' blood.

Answer 10

like what? nurses are subjected to tests every month or so for diseases.