Medical Malpractice Rod in broken leg too long and screws broken

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Chickie204

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Hi,
My husband was in a motorcycle accident on 02/10/08 and he broke his leg in half. He broke the big bone in the lower half of his leg, I believe they call that bone a tibia? It is the largest bone. Anyway, he was taken to the hospital and the bone specialist on duty was the one who put the rod in his leg and fixed him up.
On his last visit to the same bone specialist that treated him in the hospital, he told the doctor that he could not bend his leg and felt like something was pushing against his kneecap. He had mentioned this to the doctor on several visits but was told it is still healing. Then, the doctor told him he did not feel like the leg was healing properly and wanted to set up an appointment for my husband to go to another specialist that he knew, to get a second opinion.

So, my husband went to the new specialist and that doctor told him the rod that was inserted in his leg, was too long and one of the screws were broken. The doctor also told him that he could remove the rod and insert a smaller hollow rod that would help keep the bone from ever fracturing again. So, my husband asked him how long he would be out of work and the doctor told him he would probably be out anywhere from two to six weeks because the surgery is about as painful and complicated as the first surgery. My husband is self employed and cannot take off work that long however, he wants the wrong rod removed from his leg. We do not want to sue anyone or anything like that. We just want to know if the first doctor that put the rod in his leg, would be liable for his income during the time he would have to be off work if he had the second surgery done, since he put the wrong rod in my husband's leg. Does anyone know if he has any right to charge the first doctor for his income during the time he will be out of work for the second surgery?

I thank you in advance for any help!!!!

Sincerely,
Chickie :(
 
Chickie - you need to consult with a personal injury attorney to find out how you can settle the issue between the first doctor and the loss of wages your husband is incurring. Good luck to you!
 
He doesn't have a right to charge the doctor for time off work (unless the doctor gave him some kind of conractual guarantee, which I highly doubt). He does have the right to sue the doctor for malpractice and claim his lost wages as damages.

You say you don't want to sue - well, don't let the doctor know that. It will disincline him to settle.
 
Ok first off, you need to consult with an Attorney who does Medical Malpractice cases, not a personal injury Attorney, for the issue with the doctors. Whatever Attorney you call, just make sure he handles Medical Malpractice.

Second, was his accident caused because of the negligence of another driver? If so, THEN you can contact a Personal Injury Attorney.
 
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