In October I had a lipoma removed off of the back of my head. There was swelling and redness to the area and around the area. I was told by the doctor that was normal and it would take time to heal. I was put on numerous antibiotics for several weeks.
The surgeon who performed the surgery had never seen anything like this before and referred me to see another ear nose and throat specialist. That doctor took me off of the antibiotics and it dramatically had turned for the worse.
In December they had to remove a 4 by 4 square inch section of my tissue that in some areas was 1 inch deep, from were there was so much infection it killed my skin and tissue. I have also had to wear a wound vac to the back of my head , so therefore have not been able to work. Now I had to go through a skin graft and was told I would never have hair grown back in that area again.
Is there anything I can do to recover from of my expenses, loss of wages and pain and suffering? I don't know if an infection can be caused by medical malpractice or if this is a good case.
Answer:
Infections occurring post-operation should be caught early on and treated to avoid exactly this type of patient injury. It sounds like there was a failure to detect the infection and treat it, which may be medical negligence.
You may have a good medical malpractice claim, but depending on the value of the damages, it will likely not be worth the cost of prosecuting the lawsuit. The only way to find out is to talk to a medical malpractice attorney. If your losses were not significant, then it may simply be too expensive to bring the lawsuit against the doctor or hospital.
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Posted by Staff Writer on 25 Jan 2010