Personal Injury Orange County

It happens all the time – doctors and hospitals get into a hurry and miss important symptoms, sometimes resulting in a misdiagnosis. But for Robert Harvey, that misdiagnosis happened twice and led to severe physical problems, including impaired brain function and loss of vision.

Robert Harvey went to the hospital experiencing the classic symptoms of a subdurmal haematoma, for which he was sent for a CT scan. But the scan operator and the doctor both missed any blood on the brain and instead diagnosed him with gastroentilitus, a much less serious condition. While Robert went back again a month later with the same symptoms, the doctor in that case told him it was a sinus infection and sent him home.

He collapsed in his home later that day.

After being brought by ambulance back to the hospital, another CT scan was done and his subdurmal haematoma was finally diagnosed. Emergency surgery was begun that very day, but much of the damage had already been done.

Medical malpractice is something that can happen to anyone, and that is why it is so important for doctors to take responsibility for their actions or inactions. That first misdiagnosis cost Robert Harvey much of his vision and a portion of his brain. Therefore, as is his right, he is suing the hospital with a personal injury claim.

It happens all the time: medical malpractice at certified hospitals. Most people assume that doctors never make mistakes. In fact, they rely on that fact, especially when they need medical help themselves. However, eight hospitals in Southern California were recently fined for failures to catch some serious medical errors that resulted in damage and sometimes death to the patients being treated, and three of those hospitals were here in Orange County.

Now I’m not saying that hospitals aren’t safe. Most of the time, the correct treatment is given and patients walk away in better condition. However, if you have been a victim of malpractice, don’t feel like you’re alone and don’t feel like you can’t sue for damages. A good Orange County malpractice attorney can help you to recover the compensation you need for your injuries and expenses.

Several years ago, a friend of mine was involved in an accident that could have killed her. She was at the doctor for a quick checkup when he noticed a funny lump on her neck. The biopsy showed that it was cancerous, and she quickly underwent treatment for the cancer. After six months of cancer treatments, she was given a clean bill of health and remission was announced. That was three years ago and she is still cancer free today.

Now, here is the interesting part. A few months before the checkup that caught the cancer, my friend was the patient of another doctor. Her medical insurance was about to change, so she went to her old doctor for one final checkup. He told her that everything was fine, and she went her way assuming that he was telling the truth. But, whether it was negligence or simple incompetence, he missed the lump in her neck and the cancer all-together.

After her insurance changed, she found a new doctor and decided that, since the visit was covered, she might as well make an appointment and get to know him. That visit saved her life.

Shortly after the cancer discovery, I told my friend to find a personal injury attorney and file a lawsuit. After all, if the cancer had gone untreated, it could have killed her. At first, she was reluctant, but eventually she did sue. Why? Well, she didn’t want him to ever cause another human being to go untreated again.

When I was in my first year of law school, my professor told a story about a man who went into a hospital for an operation. The plan was to remove his appendix as a precaution, since he was having stomach trouble they couldn’t tie to anything. After the operation was over, he got extremely ill and had to be admitted to the hospital again. It turns out that the doctor removed the appendix perfectly, but had left a piece of gauze behind. The gauze, combined with the appendix juices, started an infection that caused him extreme pain and nausea for several days. After his stay in the hospital was over, the man went home and lived the rest of his life.

What was the moral of this story? Well, according to my profession, the moral was that the man didn’t have a very good lawyer. After all, with an Orange County medical malpractice suit, the man could have been compensated for his hospital bills and the trauma he experienced as a result of the infection. He could have made a lot of money and lived in the lap of luxury for many years. According to my profession, that is what a good lawyer does for a victim of personal injury. It was definitely something that got me thinking over the course of the semester.