What to do about complications from a C section?
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What to do about complications from a C section?
My wife has a C section 6 months ago. Afterward, she noticed as slight pain in her lower right abdomin. When she mentioned to the OB who performed the operaion, the doctor told her that it was normal pain associated with the procedure. About4 months later, she started experiencing more pain in her right lower abdominal which caused her to be unable to sleep or eat. A CAT scan found an abscess in the area where she was experiencing the pain. The primary doctor referred her to see a general surgeon, who later performed laparoscopic surgery to remove the abscess. The surgeon also found a piece of dissolving tape in her stomach that did not dissolve but should have. Do we have a case against the doctor or manufacturer of the self-dissolving tape
Asked on February 5, 2013 under Malpractice Law, Maryland
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
Medical malpractice is the provision of medical care which does not meet accepted standards for such care--most commonly, this involves negligence, or carelessness, on the part of the medical care provider. If the tape was supposed to dissolve and it would be considered reasonable or appropriate to have used the tape in this situation, in the way the doctor did, then most likely the doctor did not commit malpractice; that is, he or she would not have been careles or done anything wrong. (Only if it would have been incorrect or careless to have used this tape would it possibly have been malpractice.)
If the tape did not function as designed, you may have a product liability claim against the manufacturer. However, if your wife has fully recovered, as we hope, all you could recover is your out-of-pocket (not picked up by insurance) medical costs, any lost wages (if she missed work), and *possibly* a modest amount for the pain and discomfort she experienced prior to the surgery to resolve the situation. Since product liability suits can be expensive--you need product experts on your side, and expert witness typically do not work cheap--it is unclear whether it would be worth your while to pursue legal action.
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