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4-grand out of pocket for a partially-fixed issue, what're my options?

post #1 of 34
9/25/09 at 5:12pm
Thread Starter 
Yo,

I had a 12-thousand dollar Septoplasty for a deviated septum and 2 turbinates, which did improve breathing considerably at first, however, it's been just over 4 months and the originally-presenting issue persists -- at times whether i've showered and blown my nose or not, I can breath in and out through only one nostril. This has obvious health effects.

Can I file malpractice? What are my options, financially and medically? I AM NOT LOOKING FOR THIS TO REPLACE ADVISE OF A LAWYER, so if a Mod is reading this please don't Close the thread. I'm just asking for info since I know somebody here has Been There Done That and I wouldn't even know where to get started. I don't really have the money to get a lawyer, but if it means I save the 4 grand and have my nose re-surgerier gratis to actually fix my issue, that would be great.

Looking forward to hearing from you, thanks
DT
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post #2 of 34
9/25/09 at 5:53pm
I don't see any ground for malpractice here. No therapeutic method guarantees 100% success. For example, you cannot sue a hematologist for malpractice because his regimen of chemotherapy failed to cure your leukemia - unless his methods are proven to not meet the standard of care.
I would suggest obtaining a second opinion by another ENT to see what your medical options are at this point.
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post #3 of 34
9/25/09 at 5:55pm
Vote yes to national health care ;-) Or maybe move to the UK.
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post #4 of 34
9/25/09 at 5:57pm
unless the septoplasty was botched, or there is reason to believe the doctor knew that the operation would not work (and he didnt tell you this), then I dont believe you can claim malpractice. note: i am not a lawyer, and have very little knowledge of intentional tort


Quote:
Originally Posted by iriverdude View Post
Vote yes to national health care ;-) Or maybe move to the UK.
right... that will sure help him breathe better...
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post #5 of 34
9/25/09 at 6:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iriverdude View Post
Vote yes to national health care ;-) Or maybe move to the UK.
I had a similar surgery done in Canada by a plastic surgeon at no cost to me and I don't understand what Americans are so upset about by having national health care, but that is their choice and decision to make.

I haven't had any problems after the surgery and it was at least ten years ago and good luck in getting your surgery repaired.
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post #6 of 34
9/25/09 at 6:44pm
Have the same issue with a kidney stone that had to be paid in advance. Yet if I went into a hospital to do work and they didn't get results, I wouldn't get paid. I'm all for national healthcare.
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post #7 of 34
9/25/09 at 7:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by peanuthead View Post
I don't see any ground for malpractice here. No therapeutic method guarantees 100% success. For example, you cannot sue a hematologist for malpractice because his regimen of chemotherapy failed to cure your leukemia - unless his methods are proven to not meet the standard of care.
I would suggest obtaining a second opinion by another ENT to see what your medical options are at this point.
Yeah, that makes sense. I will have to wait until 2010 thought because my benefits already ran out. That's the other fun part is finding private insurance (or whatever it's called when it's in addition to what you have through your employer).


On the nationalized healthcare stuff, I heard taxes in Canada are waaaaaaay higher so at the end of the day, don't you end up paying about the same? or no? If no, I should totally move to Canada because I have to have regular therapy, psychiatry and chiropractic appointments, which as you can obviously guess are not cheap when you have crappy insurance.
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post #8 of 34
9/25/09 at 8:17pm
I wouldn't say they were way higher, a bit maybe but then again how do you calculate taxes? If America balances it's budget and Canada theirs, where would your tax rate be then? A trillion here and a trillion there and pretty soon you end up with a hefty tax bill. With the exception of the last year and a half, Canada has balanced it's budget every year for the past decade.

But, as far as I understand it would cost Americans the same as what they are paying now when you include hospital bills and insurance premiums. The healthcare bill would just be paid differently, America would gain efficiency of scale.

America is a completely different economy than Canada, more of a global empire, if you look at the Dow 30 or the S&P 500 and look at how they are mostly global brands. Canada is a more of mixed economy with a strong emphasis on commodity type industries.
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post #9 of 34
9/25/09 at 8:42pm
Quote:
i am not a lawyer, and have very little knowledge of intentional tort
I am not a lawyer, but I am a 3rd year law student.

Just FYI: Medical malpractice is usually not an intentional tort. An intentional tort would be something like battery. Usually, the only way you would have a claim for battery in a medmal case is if the doctor did something like perform an operation he/she did not have authorization to do.

Most medmal claims are for negligence, which is not an intentional tort. A simple bad result does not negligence make.

Please don't construe any of the above as legal advice- just making a comment on tort law in general. The OP should talk to a lawyer if he/she has questions about his/her situation.
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post #10 of 34
9/25/09 at 9:08pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by frozenice View Post
I wouldn't say they were way higher, a bit maybe but then again how do you calculate taxes? If America balances it's budget and Canada theirs, where would your tax rate be then? A trillion here and a trillion there and pretty soon you end up with a hefty tax bill. With the exception of the last year and a half, Canada has balanced it's budget every year for the past decade.

But, as far as I understand it would cost Americans the same as what they are paying now when you include hospital bills and insurance premiums. The healthcare bill would just be paid differently, America would gain efficiency of scale.

America is a completely different economy than Canada, more of a global empire, if you look at the Dow 30 or the S&P 500 and look at how they are mostly global brands. Canada is a more of mixed economy with a strong emphasis on commodity type industries.
Well maybe I should read up on what it's like to live in Canada I have actually entertained that idea a few times in the past few years, and having actually decent health coverage that I don't have to bite my nails over would certainly be a good reason to make a life change.

Employement, however..... not really sure what i'd do about that.

FWIW my current taxes are about 22%. I make 40102/yr gross, net is roughly 32000. Is there any way to compare that to Canada? I guess I mean if i'd need to budget completely differently, that would be something to prepare for. Cost of living here, on my own, is about 700/month for rent & utilities (give or take), 50-100/week for groceries and... well.. as you can see lots of medical lol.
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post #11 of 34
9/25/09 at 9:22pm
I don't know the severity of your issue post-surgery, but I think it's important to note that your nasal cavities do "switch nostrils" throughout any given day, which is an otherwise natural and normal function. Again, I know this is obviously different than the norm, but it is food for thought.
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post #12 of 34
9/25/09 at 10:08pm
Quote:
at times whether i've showered and blown my nose or not, I can breath in and out through only one nostril. This has obvious health effects
This is perfectly normal last I checked.
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post #13 of 34
9/25/09 at 10:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sduibek View Post
On the nationalized healthcare stuff, I heard taxes in Canada are waaaaaaay higher so at the end of the day, don't you end up paying about the same? or no? If no, I should totally move to Canada because I have to have regular therapy, psychiatry and chiropractic appointments, which as you can obviously guess are not cheap when you have crappy insurance.
Yes, but even when you calculate what percentage of each person's taxes go to health services, it's far less than people spend in the USA.

We pay more and get less. Go USA!
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post #14 of 34
9/26/09 at 2:21am
The tax thing is complicated. When you add federal returns with state taxes (though there aren't any in Washington) plus sales tax and every other tax, the US tax burden isn't all that different from other countries. I'll stop here becase of the prohibition of political discussion, but suffice it to say that the difference between counfries is not nearly as stark as some would have you believe.

As for hiring a lawyer, don't assume that you'd have to pay a retainer or hourly fees. Medical malpractice practitioners often work on contingency. In other words, someone might take your case for free.

I cannot say whether you have a valid claim or comment on your state's laws. However, I can recommend that you make an appointment with an attorney who practices in that field and discuss your case. You'll want to take your medical file and anything else relevant along. You may or may not have a claim, but I think you should take advantage of a free consultation to find out.

As for the clogged nostril thing, I dealt with that for years. My septum is normal, but I have allergies that would close one off most of the time. It was livable.

The weird thing was that thatentirely disappeared when I lost a lot of weight. I've dropped close to 110 lbs. so far and my nasal passages completely opened up, I stopped snoring and even cats (one of my allergies) don't bother me anywhere as much as they used to. I don't understand what happened, but dropping the pounfs changed everything.
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post #15 of 34
9/26/09 at 4:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iriverdude View Post
Vote yes to national health care ;-) Or maybe move to the UK.
Since America is the worldwide bastion of democracy, we can only vote yes to national health care if it's presented to us by the reigning senate. It hasn't been, isn't being, and won't be. But instead we get to have Obama's watered-down, loophole-ridden, ultimately-insurance-company-boosting-scheme-that-has-failed-in-the-various-states-which-previously-implemented-plans-identical-to-it instead. yipeeeeeeee

i wish i could still defect can i defect?



As for the original poster, why not get in touch with the people who performed the surgery, say that it was obviously not completely successful and you want a follow-up? But it wouldn't be a bad idea to also talk to a lawyer - medical "professionals" in the US often botch jobs in order to keep a patient coming back. Cha ching!
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