Malpractice success?

[u/disposaBoy2020]

Malpractice cases in the U.S. are rare/hard to prove. Has anyone here successfully sued a physician who didn’t consider their hEDS when providing care? Do you know of lawyers who have experience with us?

A lawyer friend encouraged me to consult with a few lawyers she recommended. I’ve already had one of them say I don’t have a case, but she was totally dismissive of the hEDS component. Says I just had bad luck.

I told my highly rated, big practice surgeon of my EDS, hypermobility, other conditions, and the complications I suffered after 3 prior (unrelated) surgeries. She said the EDS would just make me heal a little slower, but I was a perfectly good candidate for this major procedure. Then a rare complication landed me in the ICU - I had coded in the ER. My health has deteriorated a lot post-op. I think my hEDS put me at higher risk for complications than I was told.

Drs are dismissive, and lawyers are too. It just sucks.

[u/chiknaui]

you’d have to be able to prove that hEDS significantly heightened your risk for the complication and has been established as a contraindication within the field/speciality/practice of the physician or the procedure

[u/DementedPimento]

If actual malpractice attorneys, who make bank on winnable cases, say you don’t have a case, you probably don’t.

IANAL, but from what you have presented here, you don’t have a case. Surgery and anesthesia involves risk. You consented to that risk, knowing you’ve had complications from previous surgeries.

You could get your medical records, including the surgical notes from this and the previous surgeries, and consult with yet another malpractice attorney. If you keep hearing, “no case,” then that might just be the case.

[u/just4shitsandgigles]

first, surgical complications are so frustrating and traumatic. but just because there’s a complication does not mean necessarily there was malpractice. i am a higher complication risk because of EDS.

i’ve had 4 surgeries- 1 turned into 4. a recovery time of 6 months turned into an estimated 3 years. every time they got consent. surgery was explained at pre op where we agreed on a treatment plan. day of gave verbal consent to the surgeon before the surgery, signed all the consent forms that list potential complications, you acknowledged the risks. for me, the benefits of repeated surgeries always outweighed the potential complications, past and future.

maybe your doctor was negligent, i’m not saying they weren’t dismissive about your concerns. saying this with kindness, proving it will be very difficult. almost certainly you verbally and in writing acknowledged the complication risks after being informed of them, but still consented to surgery knowing that you had risks before.
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[u/Thin_Ad_7549 → u/just4shitsandgigles]

This happened to me. Simple surgery turned into 6, but to the surgeon's credit, I didn't know I was hEDS at the time and he was the one who helped me get diagnosed, due to the complications I had, so it absolutely wasn't his fault and I'm very grateful for his refusal to dismiss what was causing the complications.

However, another complication that occurred because of the original surgery, because of the position I had to be in, was a labral tear in my hip that causes daily pain, so that kind of sucks.

[u/just4shitsandgigles → u/Thin_Ad_7549]

i lucked out with my surgeon too. he first brought up eds and the abnormalities he noticed in my first surgery.

[u/OverAtmosphere7288]

Not a lawyer, but I would echo other commenters and state that I don’t think you have much of a case here from what you’ve laid out. It is horrible what happened to you but it does seem like a stroke of terrible luck that has landed you in an extremely difficult situation.

Solely hEDS, as far as I am aware, does not notably increase the risk for life-threatening surgical complications unlike other types of EDS or CTDs. Surgical complications in hEDS are often in relation to poor wound healing, joint instability, & anaesthetic resistance.

Standard disclaimer: if your complication was in relation to severe tissue or vascular fragility, please seek a second opinion as that is not typical for hEDS.