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Unnecessary surgery is an everyday occurrence in America. Powerful money incentives make it so. Fee-for-service doctors, especially surgeons and those who own their own testing equipment, are paid by the quantity of work they do, not the quality of care they provide. So patients in cities with more surgeons get more surgery, as Dartmouth medical school researchers have shown in a series of studies over the last 30 years.
On the other hand, not every instance of unnecessary surgery warrants a lawsuit. Sometimes the ultimate harm to the patient is negligible. Other times, the surgeon can find colleagues who can mount a persuasive case that while not every surgeon would have advocated for an operation, enough doctors would that the case becomes one of a judgment call – and then the focus shifts to whether the surgeon adequately counseled the patient ahead of time about the risks, benefits and options.
Unnecessary surgery: the Importance of One Good Hand: A True Story
My client Mike Wood was a victim of unnecessary surgery and also a lack of proper informed consent. A backhoe operator and outdoorsman in southern Maryland, Wood went to an emergency room one night with chest pain. After it was proven not to be a heart attack, the ER doctors had a surgeon see him, because they couldn’t get a blood pressure in his left arm. Read more…
Consult with an Experienced Malpractice Attorney
If you believe you or a family member has been seriously injured from medical malpractice, medical error, or neglect by a doctor, hospital, nurse, clinic, nursing home or other health care provider, you may want to click here to contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney for a free evaluation of your case. You can also email us at info@patrickmalonelaw.com or call us at 202-742-1500 or 888-625-6635 toll-free. We will respond within 24 hours. There is no charge for our initial consultation.
