i would like to consult with a lawyer regrading a possible medical malpractice, any recommendations?
back in my home country some lawyer used to take a part of the sum (if they win) and charge you zero for the process, is it common here as well?
regards and thanks
YSR
2. Let a patient organisation preevaluate if your case qualifies as medica malpractice. If a doctor didn't inform you about all risks that go with a specific treatment he has to take responsibility for this risks - even if the treatment was correct.
3. Make your demands in time, there are deadlines to stick to. If you severed heavy damage involve a lawyer as soon as possible (Patient Organisations will help you find one).
4. If you don't reach an agreement with the doctor's/hospital's insurance you will have to go to court. This can take a long time and costs a lot. It's an advantage if you have a costs of law insurance
Contacts:
(Click on the right side in the section "Patientenstellen" your area to
get details)
Your best bet is probably to first get in touch with one of the patient's rights organizations for a reading on whether it is possible, or even in your interest, to proceed further.
http://www.spo.ch/index.php?option=c...d=28&Itemid=39
To understand the Swiss perspective, you might want to read the bit here titled 'Verdacht auf Behandlungsfehler - was tun?':
http://www.medix.ch/dossiers/patientenrechte.pdf
All the best to you with your recovery.
Tom
It is forbidden for lawyers to participate in any punitive damages/ financial compensation of the client in Switzerland. You will probably way have to cover the lawyers costs in advance (retainer), as well as court costs.
Additionally, malpractice is difficult to win in Switzerland, the Doctor has to be seriously negligent (which you have to prove) or have done something that would be regarded as a serious medical error (Kunstfehler in German).
A week ago I went to the doctor's office to have two small bumps (pilar cysts) removed from my scalp. Nothing serious, they're hereditary, run in the family, and I had one removed approx. 8 years ago in the US by my family doctor, no big deal.
When I got to the doctor's office, the assistant told me that both of the doctors would be coming to perform the procedure, not just the head (lead) doctor. (The one who told me he would remove them.) I didn't think anything of it.
The head doctor numbed up both areas with some local anesthetic injections, and mentioned that he hoped the anesthesia wouldn't wear off before they finished removing them. I took this as a joke, as he likes to joke around.
He removed the first cyst, with the other doctor and the assistant watching. Everything went smoothly, but i remember thinking that it took quite a bit longer than when I'd had this done 8 years ago.
Now onto the second cyst. The second doctor, the underling I suppose, took the scalpel and made the incision - following instructions of the head doctor. I thought to myself, 'WTF, am I a lab rat here or what! Is this woman qualified?!' - but was hesitant to make a scene while someone has a scalpel to my head.
Anyway, I could feel the cut, and told them so. The head doctor nonchalantly reassured me that it would'nt take long. Well, turns out the underling couldn't find the cyst under my skin for some reason. She dug around in my scalp for seemingly forever, as the anesthetic wore off nearly completely, and I just clenched my teeth and dealt with the pain, just looking forward to the ordeal being over with and getting out of there. Head doctor kept giving instructions, telling her what she was doing wrong, etc. It was terrible - the feeling of forceps clawing around under my scalp.
Finally, they told me in English that they had finished, and that the second cyst, being small, they'd had to cut it out in small bits instead of removing it whole - and that is why I couldn't see it (the other cyst was sitting there on the instrument tray) I thought this kind of strange, because I had been listening to the whole conversation between them in Schweizer Deutsch and hadn't heard anything like that mentioned - but I figured I must have just missed something or misunderstood, and was happy to not have to feel the forceps digging around anymore.
They stitched me up and sent me on my way, and I made an appointment for a week later (tomorrow) to have the stitches removed.
Fast forward 5 days, and the swelling has gone down on both sites. The first site is fine, no pain even when I put pressure on it. The second site, however, is still painful and I can still feel the cyst under my skin , no smaller than before!
Now, i understand that nothing is certain and that doctors can make mistakes just like everybody else, but in this instance I feel like I was a) Not properly anesthesized, and the doctor knew it , b) used as a test subject/lab rat for the head doc. to teach his underqualified underling a new skill, and c) completely lied to about the cyst being removed when it is, in fact, still there.
I have to go in to get the stitches out tomorrow, but I'm hesitant to have these peeps come anywhere near me now.
I'm also curious about how this will work with my insurance company, as I'm sure i'll have a large % of the bill to pay myself and I don't want to pay for a procedure that wasn't actually performed.
So, what would you do? How would you approach and what would you say to the doctor?
If I go in to the office just to explain my complete lack of confidence in them, will I get charged for another office visit? I'd gladly remove the stitches myself..
aargh!
If the latter I'd try to find another one and go to see them.... explain your concerns, if the cyst is still there it should be simple enough to prove that nothing was removed (presumably they're sent to a lab to be checked in case this time they're malignant so that should show that there was ony one as well). Ask the new clinic for an assessment of the treatment so far and hand that on to your insurance.
Hospitals should have an office that deals specifically with this sort of problem, ask at the reception desk.
If up until this point, the 'head doctor' has been reasonable and you've trusted him, then simply explain calmly that you were unhappy with what had happened, you don't think the student removed the cyst as it's clearly still there (he'll tell you it's recurred), but you were in pain and frankly too shocked to complain at the time, and don't want the trainee anywhere near you again!
Malpractice as such is incredibly difficult to prove. Personally I've had a few medical interventions/mis-diagnoses that even in England would have ended up in court, but here I have to accept attempts to simply 'fix' the problem.
It was at my GP. The only time I'd met the doctor before was when I went in and met with the underling, explaining to her that I had these two cysts that i'd like removed. She seemed out of her element and had to call in the head doctor to have a look at them. He came in, introduced himself, and said he could remove them, and I made the appointment.
About telling me it's recurred - yeah, I thought he may try to say that. Pretty ridiculous as it's taken 10 years to grow to the size of a pea, to say that it has returned to that size after supposed removal in less than a week.
After the procedure, he said there was no need to send anything to the lab to get checked, as there is almost no chance that they are malignant. 'To save me costs, ' he said, but maybe it was just to cover his ass? I don't know.
I'm not really interested in trying to sue for malpractice, though I do believe it has taken place. My main concern is with the insurance company. I'm also curious as to how he has billed the company - if he's told them that he removed two cysts, would that constitute fraud? Is a botched procedure billable?
My other concern is that I still have pain in the area, though I've never had pain there before the procedure. I'm not sure if the skin is still inflamed from all of the digging around, or if the underling caused some subcutaneous damage of sorts.
As your appointment is tomorrow I think I'd talk to him and explain that the lump is still there and you're rather concerned that his partner/student/trainee missed it. If you don't get a reasonable response then you're more than justified in going elsewhere for further help.... the insurance will almost certainly cover your bills without asking difficult questions so that shouldn't be too Mapuche of a worry at this point.
I don't think my own GP would have done an operation like this, I'd have been sent to see one of her large circle of college pals that specialises in whatever the problem was.
I do find it surprising is that the cysts were disposed of without being checked in a lab.... doing that is usually a routine precaution and it's odd that your doctor has taken your word for a family history of pilas cysts without checking at least the first few.
Don't worry, the insurance bills should be covered.
Thanks for the reassurance concerning the bills. I'm still skeptical as I have only very basic insurance coverage with a huge deductible, but we'll see.
My French is nothing special, however the Dr said it was better than any other Anglo Saxon he has ever met & refused to have anyone to translate as it was unnecessary! Unbelievable how little French most Brits in the Chamonix valley speak.
I do think that you'd be better off ensuring in future that cysts are checked though, unless you're absolutely positive that they're the usual sort.
And find yourself a dermatologist or similar for any future cyst removals, this bloke (or rather his second) is obviously not up to that particular job, any decent doctor would at the very least ask if you minded them bringing in another, more junior, doctor to assist.
Before i'd gone to my GP here, I had found a specialist online - the practice's website said CHF 200.-/per cyst. Similar price as in the US when I had inquired there last year, $200 each. Unfortunately, their schedule was booked solid and I couldn't have the procedure done in the states before I had to fly. My GP there, a close family friend, would have removed them both for free (as he did with the one I had taken out 8 years ago), but due the current structure of the medical establishment/insurance in the states now, his practice is no longer allowed to even keep a scalpel in the office...
Doctors will always have an explanation and the medical profession stick together. My view is than a medical malpractice suit would have to be virtually iron-clad to have any chance of success here.
No, I haven't got legal insurance, and have no interest in a lawsuit anyway. I was referring to my med. insurance. As I have a high deductible, I will likely have to pay the bill 100% out of pocket. Since the procedure was botched by an unqualified/underqualified or just plain inadequate employee, and I will have to go and see a different doctor to have the procedure done again correctly, I'm not excited about having to pay for the procedure twice.
I'm not sure if I can really argue this with the medical practice, and think that I may have to take it up with the insurance company. (The bill is sent directly from the practice to the insurance company, probably already sent?. The insurance pays their part that is covered under the policy - likely nothing in this case - and sends me a bill for the rest, likely the full amount)
On another note, any doctors out there who can tell me if an 'Assistenzartz Allgemeine Innere Medizin' is considered qualified to do this type of procedure here in CH?
Hopefully he'll at least offer to do it again.... properly and without charge.
If you don't get any joy from him then take Urs Max's advice and speak to your insurance about your concerns. Even if they're not going to pay out this time they of keep records and will keep a watchful eye open for other complaints about this doctor being flagged in the future.
I'm curious to know if they overstepped the bounds of professional conduct when the assistant took the scalpel to my head. Wiki says that in Germany an Assistenzartz is licensed (approbierter Artz) while in Austria the same title refers to a someone non-licensed. No mention of CH, though. Just wondering what ground I have to stand on if I have to argue with the lead doctor.
I have absolutely zero trust in the lead doctor now, as he was present during the whole procedure and clearly must have seen that the cyst had not been removed - but then told me that it had been.