Should I SUE my doctor?

A friend of the family had a hip replacement a few years ago (due to damage brought on by a bike crash). When he found out he was getting it done, he started training for an Ironman right way b/c he had always wanted to do one and if he was told he couldn't run after the procedure. Maybe things have changed in the past few years though.

I don't know if everyone else is getting bad at this but come on people, obvious troll.

mstars wrote:

A friend of the family had a hip replacement a few years ago (due to damage brought on by a bike crash). When he found out he was getting it done, he started training for an Ironman right way b/c he had always wanted to do one and if he was told he couldn't run after the procedure. Maybe things have changed in the past few years though.

No, things haven't changed. It is still a very big mistake to run with an artificial hip. The prosthesis just isn't equipped with pain receptors like a normal hip, so you can't feel the abuse until the damage is extensive. Unfortunately, a small number of utter idiots have the mentality that a hip replacement is something to heroically overcome rather than an artificial device whose mechanical limitations need to be respected, and these people deservedly end up with metal debris in their joint fluid. The OP needs to learn from her mistake, stop running and move on with life. If she has to sue anybody, it should be the clueless assholes in this thread encouraging her to go after the doctor/manufacturer or to do anything other than STOP RUNNING!

She said she had a hip resurfacing, not replacement. My understanding is that you can continue running with a hip resurfacing.

lalala wrote:

She said she had a hip resurfacing, not replacement. My understanding is that you can continue running with a hip resurfacing.

Your understanding is mistaken. Hip "resurfacing" is a form or hip replacement, not something distinct from it. "Resurfacing" preserves more bone stock than a traditional total hip replacement, so it is suitable for younger patients whose bone tissue is strong enough to accept a smaller prosthesis with less surface area in contact with the bone. It is still not adviseable to run after hip resurfacing.

Hey lady,

"I'm gunna resurface this hip. You can then do whatever you want on it and there will be no complications."

Is this what you are asking/hoping your MD would say???? No ortho surgeon on the planet would be dumb enough to say that.

Im sorry your problems were not perfectly taken care of, but if you expected them to be you are a moron. MD's are not Jesus Christ. They do not lay their hands on you and miraculously you get better. They are not all knowing. Medicine is not perfect.

Have to agree though, Surgeons definately don't work as hard as Physicians and get a whoole whoole lot more money than physicians who actually do save lives. Surgeons still work very hard at what they do though and unless it's completely caused by your doctor or something like that than don't sue.

Yeah... wrote:

Have to agree though, Surgeons definately don't work as hard as Physicians and get a whoole whoole lot more money than physicians who actually do save lives. Surgeons still work very hard at what they do though and unless it's completely caused by your doctor or something like that than don't sue.

What?

Surgeons ARE physicians. And you are an uneducated dolt.

Surgeons, on average, work harder/work more hours than most non-surgical physicians, FYI.

I assume you're a troll, though.

have you spoken to your doctor about the procedure and your experience? What did they say? These things do come with complications and sometimes they don't work as planned but that doesn't mean the doctor is negligent.

I'm pretty sure that you should not be running on a prosthetic hip. A "normal level of activity" for a hip replacement patient usually involves going to the grocery store and walking the dog, not running and skiing. Most prostheses (sp?) will wear out in ~10 years with little activity so if you are beating on the thing it is going to go faster.

Good luck getting better but I don't think you have a legal case. If you have had a hip replacement, and are still running, skiing, and hiking (even with pain) then I think the judge will just say "well whats the problem?" and tell you to come back when you can't walk.

Your most realistic chance of some type of case is to join a class action lawsuit against the prosthetic company.

As a surgeon, often times I find out later that a new device is not all it's cracked up to be. That's why I'm rarely one to be the first to use some sort of "cutting edge" technique (example: google "lap band complications").

Every time a new product comes out, the sales rep always say it's much better, lower complications, etc. With a new product they can claim they've never heard of any complications (because it's new!). So likely, it's not the surgeon's fault for this particular complication. At the time he MAY have been told other patients have run on it.

If you're really about the "greater good" then you should sue the prosthetic company. Personally I'm tired of companies making exaggerated claims only to have the product backfire on me or a colleague.

But this is America so you can sue anyone you damn well please as long you know how to file and serve papers. And the doctor is probably the easiest "target" if you feel the need for "revenge". Even if you have no case, he'll still have to notify and meet with his malpractice attorney and go through proceedings (miss work, stress about it, etc) until the case will likely get dismissed.

Unless he did the surgery "wrong" (wrong size implant, cracked your femur, post op infection) it would be hard to win such a case. You may get 5 to 50K to settle (to "go away") which will likely not even cover your attorney fees.

you are 50 yrs old & your hip is fire trucked. a surgeon has tried to help your condition & it didn't work. bad luck.

there are some things that the human body wasn't designed to do. there are some things modern medicine can't fix. you are a fool for thinking that surgery was a silver bullet.

the suggestion of suing is ludicrous & all those that have supported it are either completely ignorant, ruthlessly pig-headed or run of the mill degenerates.

the belief that it is your right to run your body into the ground at any old age is so ridiculous it's laughable.

either that or you're a clever fisherman

Now that the amateurs have weighed in, here is a semi professional opinion. Orthopedic med mal cases are very hard. Usually the Dr. followed a school of thought that is generally accepted. This is a complete defense. Bad results happen, and perhaps he should have given you better information. Regardless, I don't think your injury is serious enough to warrant investigating the case. Because of the difficulty and expense of bringing such a case (about $50,000) we look for a truly catastrophic injury. Something that prevents you from leading a normal or productive life. Sorry for the bad news, but I think you should move on.

11111111987 wrote:

Really? You want to sue your doctor? It's because of greedy people like you that the healthcare system is so bad in this country.

That's actually a really small cost of healthcare in this country.

Huge lesson here - stay the F away from physicians.

aeet wrote:

11111111987 wrote:

Really? You want to sue your doctor? It's because of greedy people like you that the healthcare system is so bad in this country.

That's actually a really small cost of healthcare in this country.

It's not the cost of an individual lawsuit. It's the "lawsuit climate" that has led to doctors practicing "defensive" medicine-over ordering tests, over medicating patients. You end up not just treating the injury/illness but doing whatever sounds convincing to a potential jury on nonexperts who's medical knowledge is based on TV shows. So you order up a $1000 MRI because an MRI report is more believable to a potential jury than your written word based on your own eyeballs and years of experience.

For example, do most surgeons need an MRI to diagnose an Achilles tendon rupture? No, but in this day and age you might want to order one up anyways in case your patient ends up being the 2-10% that re-ruptures and decides to sue you. Just so it looks like to a jury that you did "all you can" (as opposed to "standard of care" or "medically necessary").