Medical Malpractice Is orthopaedic doing the right thing or not?

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russharv63

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My wife fell at work and injuried her left knee. She filed a Virginia workers compensation claim and was seen by a orthopaedic. She got a MRI and was diagnosed with "patella femoral syndrome" even though the MRI was normal. The doctor gave her a cortisone injection and told her to take ibuprofen. That is all he was going to do for her. After weeks my wife went back to the doctor and said she was in pain and that something had to be done. He told her the only option left was knee surgery. He would have to get it authorized by the workers comp insurance company. While waiting for the authorization he wrote a letter to my wife's workers compensation lawyer saying he was "hesitant" about doing the surgery because her knee was not swollen and the MRI was normal. So her lawyer decided to settle the case fearing my wife would get nothing if the orthopaedic's letter got to the workers comp insurance company. So my wife took the settlement because the lawyer advised her it would be the best thing. Their was no surgery. Then a couple of weeks went by and the orthopaedic office calls my wife and tells her that the doctor is willing to do the surgery and that she can use "obamacare" to pay for it or her settlement money. Why does the doctor want to perform knee surgery on my wife when he said he was "hesitant" before the settlement? If he said my wife's knee was not swollen and the MRI was normal then why does he now want her to have knee surgery? Was he helping the insurance company before the settlement? Is he doing anything wrong?
 
Did your wife ask the doctor why he decided surgery was the best option after all? There is no way for us to know why he decided to do the surgery after all.
 
If there are doubts about what any professional says, seek a second or third opinion.
Ultimately, in the case of medical patients, you can simply say no thanks, not now.
 
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