BAD OUTCOME/GK LAWSUITS

[CG332]

My aunt had the GK about two years ago.  To say it was a bad outcome would be an understatement:  Brain swelling, psychosis from the steriod to reduce the brain swelling, deafness (she had perfect hearing prior to GK), chronic vertigo (the balance of a 7 month old and she still occasional sees things upside down), hydrocephalus. 

We honestly were never told of the "rare" side effects.

Anyone have any luck in proceeding with a malpractice lawsuit anywhere in the US?  I read this forum-it's heartbreaking-and it appears that many of us were not told the truth.  Lasik has been in the news recently (and I heard from one lawyer that there is actually a class action lawsuit against Lasik).  I know the next hot topic will be GK.

[leapyrtwins]

CG -

I'm sorry to hear about your aunt's bad outcome and post GK issues. 

It's unfortunate that you and your aunt weren't informed of all the possible side effects.  My neurotologist insisted in telling me every possible thing that could ever possibly go wrong with both radiation and surgery - both before and after I made my treatment choice (surgery in my case).  Even if the odds were 1 in 1,000,000 he just HAD to tell me!  It really freaked me out at the time, but he felt it was his responsibility to inform me - and once the freak factor was gone - I totally agreed with his thinking and was truly thankful.

He also told me that he sees lots of patients, who had AN surgery performed by other doctors, who subsequently have side-effects and are angry because their doctors failed to fully inform them.  Could these patients bring a lawsuit against their doctors for malpractice?  I guess so.  Would they win?  I'm not sure.

There are always risks involved in any medical procedure and no doctor can guarantee a procedure 100% free of side-effects; nor can he/she guarantee a specific outcome.  Was your aunt's doctor negligent because he didn't inform her of what could happen, probably.  But it might come down to a case of he said/she said - does your aunt have proof that she wasn't fully informed? 

I think a lot would depend on the judge or jury hearing the case.  IMO you might spend a lot of time, effort, and money for nothing - and I can tell you from experience that lawyers aren't cheap.  But if you seriously think you have a case - you and your aunt should consult with a lawyer - the first consultation is usually free. 

In the case of Lasik, two people very close to me have had it with no problems at all.  One - my brother - had it several years ago and the other - a close friend - had it about 6 months ago.  They both think it was the greatest thing they ever did.  That said, it will be very interesting to see how the class action suit goes.

Jan
 

[Mark]

He also told me that he sees lots of patients, who had AN surgery performed by other doctors, who subsequently have side-effects and are angry because their doctors failed to fully inform them.  Could these patients bring a lawsuit against their doctors for malpractice?  I guess so.  Would they win?  I'm not sure.

There are always risks involved in any medical procedure and no doctor can guarantee a procedure 100% free of side-effects; nor can he/she guarantee a specific outcome.  Was your aunt's doctor negligent because he didn't inform her of what could happen, probably.  But it might come down to a case of he said/she said - does your aunt have proof that she wasn't fully informed? 

Very well put Jan. Any bad outcome is certainly a sad and upsetting situation. no medical procedure comes with a guarantee but we tend to live in a society that expects one in everything. Malpractice in general is about not providing a reasonable standard of care and following the correct treatment procedures. When that occurs certainly a legal remedy is an option, but a clinician who meets all those standards and the patient still has a bad outcome does not mean malpractice has occurred. In my view, it's both a shame and costly to the healthcare system when people immediately feel that someone must be at fault and should pay because they're not happy with the result. Other societies seem to better understand that healthcare is as much "art" as "science" than we do in the US. I certainly don't know the specifics of CG's situation and it saddens me to read it, but a bad outcome does not always equal malpractice would be my point

Mark

[pattibobatti]

Goodmorning,

I am very sorry that your aunt is suffering so much...  I hope with time she will improve.  I had a very bad outcome with my surgery 2 years ago.  I had some of the things your aunt is experiencing and more.  In my case there was malpractice.  I lost my cornea because they did not protect my eye during the 11 hour surgery.  After a long while I did contact an attorney and told him my story.  They would not take the case because the new laws in place now do not allow more than 250,000.00 in damages for each case.  My attorney said there is no money in it for him  because it can take close to that amount to defend me. 

I did want to tell you also that I am doing very well now.  I just hope your aunt will continue to improve.  I would suggest that you and your aunt become very informed from this point on.  I did learn that nobody cares about you more than you.  This forum is a good place to start!!

Please tell your aunt that we care for her and wish her well.
Patti

[Maverell]

My best wishes to your Aunt, I hope her condition improves with time. I would like to mention something that I do not think anyone else has. If the doctor had told you all the possible side effects, even the rare ones, what would have been your aunts decision ?  If your aunt had not undergone treatment what would have been the result ?

I was told very very little prior to my op ( 20 years ago ) apart from the fact that I would die if I did not have the surgery. I'm still here albeit not quite the same as I was

I sincerely wish your aunt well. I am sure she will improve with time.

[Jim Scott]

CG332:

Your aunt's situation is near-tragic and I can certainly understand entertaining thoughts of a malpractice lawsuit.  I have to concur with Mark's assessment.  'Malpractice', as I understand it (I'm not an attorney) means the doctor did or didn't do specific things that he knew were potentially harmful to the health and well-being of his patient.  A poor outcome to GK is very unfortunate but hardly 'malpractice' unless it can be shown that the doctor in question (or the hospital staff, technician, etc) did (or didn't do) specific things that directly, negatively affected the outcome of the procedure.  Obviously, you would need to consult an attorney for credible legal advice, these are just opinions.  However, not being told about the potential GK side effects may not be a basic for a malpractice suit, but again, that is for a licensed attorney to decide, not some old AN patient.    I wish your aunt all the best.

Jim

[Kaybo]

I, too, hope that your Aunt continues to heal and recover.  We were VERY shocked (my family) when I awoke after surgery and could hardly talk - I sounded like a child just learning to speak - and couldn't use the right side of my body at all.  Were we informed - by the Dr. & the literature given to us?  Yes, but I think we never thought that those "worst case senarios" would apply to us so we just kind of skipped over that.  I wasn't in denial - I just didn't know how serious this was.  Knowing what I know now, the surgery a WEEK after diagnosis in itself for an AN sets off LOTS of alarm bells!!  I wonder how many times we are exposed to the facts of what can happen but just skip over them?  Now when they totally tell you something different (LADavid's case comes to mind where they told him he'd be back to acting in 2 months - how could they know that??), that's what really makes me angry!!

K

[Jim Scott]

I, too, hope that your Aunt continues to heal and recover.  We were VERY shocked (my family) when I awoke after surgery and could hardly talk - I sounded like a child just learning to speak - and couldn't use the right side of my body at all.  Were we informed - by the Dr. & the literature given to us?  Yes, but I think we never thought that those "worst case senarios" would apply to us so we just kind of skipped over that.  I wasn't in denial - I just didn't know how serious this was.  Knowing what I know now, the surgery a WEEK after diagnosis in itself for an AN sets off LOTS of alarm bells!!  I wonder how many times we are exposed to the facts of what can happen but just skip over them?  Now when they totally tell you something different (LADavid's case comes to mind where they told him he'd be back to acting in 2 months - how could they know that??), that's what really makes me angry!!

K

Good point, K. 

I neglected to mention in my previous post that the lady in question (the aunt) most likely signed some sort of hospital release form(s) that stated the possible consequences of the GK procedure. Often, this is in 'fine print' and overlooked or simply ignored by the patient and their family.  This may have been the case here...I can't know.  If a 'release' form was signed by the patient and she was mentally competent, there would be no basis for a malpractice lawsuit because the possible negative consequences of the procedure were stated and she agreed to the GK, anyway. 

With any serious medical procedure, it should always be a case of caveat emptor ('let the buyer beware') and no one should ever be 'rushed' or intimidated into a procedure.  This is known as being pro-active in your health care and it means reading tedious release forms and/or asking the white-coated M.D. pointed questions, not simply nodding your head and saying "yes" to whatever he may tell you you 'must' do.  I deeply respect physicians and admire their education and contributions to society but they are human beings, make mistakes and their opinions need to be reviewed by the patient, not simply taken as 100% accurate in every case.  As I stated: Caveat emptor.

Jim

[28Lisa]

the only thing I was told was abou losing my hearing in the left ear,and thats it.......

Was not educated in A.N prior to surgery

All I was told that it was a "monstrous" tumor, that it was rare for my age and good health and that it needs to come out right away...

Was diagnosed a month before the surgery.

[leapyrtwins]

Lisa -

it's definitely unfortunate that you weren't fully informed.  I wish you would have been aware of the ANA - and this forum - at that point.

I think you mentioned on a prior post that your AN was 4 cm, which is definitely considered large.  Not that it's a contest or anything, but we have a member here (satman) who had a 8 cm AN.  That IMO was "monstrous".

I've been reading about your complications and I don't really understand why you had so many and where they "came" from.  Did your neurosurgeon give you any idea why so many things went "wrong" for you?  And, I hope you don't mind my asking, was your neurosurgeon very experienced in AN surgery?

Jan

[Kaybo]

Survivor
Of course I didn't even know I was going to lose my hearing!!  LOL!  I woke up & they told me that I had no eardrum - that they sacrificed it to get to the tumor!!  Also, I found out on Tuesday of one week and was scheduled to have surgery the next Thursday - barely a week!  I am with Jan on the questions...just curious (Jan & I are the nosey ones!!)   

K   

[ppearl214]

One thing I try my best to tout around here (and those contact me from the WTT list) is to research, research, research... not just necessarily on the internet, but to ask for patient referrals from potential treating physicians... speak to others that have utilized certain docs.... check the state board of registration of physicians for creditials (which should also note if there has been past malpractice issues/settlements).... check with other physicians.  It breaks my heart to hear of these issues and if folks don't take control of their own bodies and medical research... then what more can be said?  It is up to us to remember that it's our bodies and docs don't see/live with our bodies and we know our bodies best... and it is up to each and every one of us to take control of medical treatments by doing research to make sure we are doing what is best for our own particular situations.

Unfortuneately, I, like many others, have learned the hard way... not to the point of suing a doc... but have come close.  I took control of my medical situations, researched beyond imagination (as many know, I deal with many major and minor medical issues)... and the docs now listen to me.... they don't rule my body, I do. 

Part of the research is knowing outright all risks involved as well.

It is up to us in our own situations to become the best, well-informed patients we can be, regardless of the medical ailment.

Just my 2 cents.
Phyl