Medical Malpractice need advice

[cragira]

last December i was refinishing some cabinets a got a splinter in my finger . I had to go to the urgent care center to have it removed and placed on antibiotics. It didn't get better so I went to family physician where he looked at it and took a swab to be tested and sent me to the emergency room with my finger in hydrogen peroxide. they cleaned it out and sent me home. a week later i had to go to a orthopedic surgeon where i found out that i had MRSA. he put me on stronger antibiotics and scheduled me for surgery the following Monday where he had to remove part of the bone in the finger. a week in the hospital and a pic line in arm for antibiotics through a IV can go. well 42 days after that i developed a blood clot in my jugular vein. and from that I got Horner's Syndrome on the left side of my face or head all from a splinter and a doctors lack of communication. I made an appointment to see the doctor and ask what happened and the only response i got was " I was sure that they were going to admit you for the finger" can i sue for malpractice on my family physician?

 

[army judge]

Anyone can always sue anyone else.
If, however, your family physician treated you pursuant to a health insurance plan; your suit will fail.
Why?
Most health insurance plans (and HMO plans as well as other plans) force you into arbitration or mediation for situations such as this.
Read your health insurance plan documentation for further details.

If you saw the physician on your own dime, you could consult with a local personal injury attorney about a lawsuit.
Most will represent you with no out of pocket costs to you.
They eventually receive 25-33% of whatever award you receive.

Do you have a case?
Yes, a prima facie case.
But, it's a long way to ever recovering a dime.
Speak with an attorney and/or read your health insurance documents.

 

[mightymoose]

You need to be able to show that the family physician should have done more than he did based upon the information he had at the time. As you describe it, I'm not sure any physician would have foreseen this unfortunate chain of events.