My son is 10 months old, and I took him to his doctor last week because I thought he had an ear infection. The doctor acted like I was being over protective and told me my son was just teething and his ears were fine.
I had to take my son to the hospital yesterday because his ear drum ruptured and the emergency room doctor said it was because he had a bad ear infection that got to the point that it made his ear drum rupture from fluid build up. The doctor we saw yesterday said my son may need tubes and didn't understand why my doctor had'nt talked to me about them yet. With the recurrent ear infections and the ruptured ear drum, it will take a while to heal and with him being so young if it doesn't heal correctly it could cause speech problems due to hearing loss.
The ear that ruptured was the same one I took my son to his normal doctor for and I am completely upset that the pain that my son has been going through could have been avoided if his doctor would have paid more attention and taken his time to diagnose the ear infection correctly.
I'm wondering if there is anything we can do for him being misdiagnosed and a bad enough decision by his doctor that could lead to alot of future problems and it caused him alot of pain for an extended period of time. Is there anything we can do?
Answer:
It certainly sounds like the first doctor could be held liable for negligent medical treatment, but the problem you are likely to encounter is a lack of substantial damages.
In any malpractice case, you will need to show how medical negligence lead to damages, or an undue injury. The damages must be substantial enough to warrant filing a very expensive medical malpractice case.
In your case, the injury to your son is probably not significant enough to justify the expense of bringing a medical malpractice lawsuit. That being said, the potential for future harm to your son may warrant such an action.
Talk to a Medical Malpractice Lawyer for a free consultation where you can get real legal advice regarding your situation and your options for pursuing compensation.
Good luck.
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Posted by Staff Writer on 29 Mar 2010