Medical Malpractice Dr. Deception - non disclosure

[lulu562]

On September 5, 2003 I had a Breast Augmentation surgery.

During the consultation 2 weeks before the surgery I was torn between a 475 and a 525 cc and they insured me when I had the operation that both implants would be available at the time of surgery.

I had decided on a 525 cc base implant overfilled to 560 ccs. After all the paperwork was completed, and I was on the operating table, they were starting the anesthesia, and the Dr. runs in and says, we .... .... , we will have to go smaller,
Me : What?
Don't worry it will be okay
Me : Okay

A few moments later I was out and woke up with implants that were not what I wanted. Needless to say, I have lost a lot of sleep, wondering how this all happened. Called the Doctor on a few occasion, he keeps telling me to wait until they settle for a year. Here it is 9 months later. I am still unhappy, still losing sleep and cancelled the Drs. appoint I had scheduled for today.

While I was dreading the Drs. appoint this morning, not being able to return to sleep, I replayed the conversation determining the size, and realized that the Dr. continued writing down sizes that would accommodate the 475 implant. I continued to tell him that they promised that both implants would be available. He did not say anything, to the contrary, and then I wrote and initialed the size I wanted.

I just called the Surgery Center today, after my morning of thought, and discovered that the Drs. bring their implants with him, so, during the entire conversation where I kept saying the 525s he KNEW he did not bring them and decided not to say anything until it was to late.

If I had known the 525 were not available, I would not have decided on the 550s. I did not want the implant overfilled by 75 ccs because of the change in the shape and firmness.

At first, I just wanted my money back, so when I can get them the way I want, and now, after my new discovery, I want to take him out, and make sure he does not do this to anyone else!!!!!!

What am I entitled to?

I took 2 off weeks from work
Medication
Transportation

And, I found that removal and replacement is more expensive then the original surgery!!

Please advise. Do I have any grounds?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I'm very sorry to hear about what happened to you. There is no question that this is very, very disturbing especially because it deals with something more precious than money -- your own medical health and welfare.

I don't know all the specific facts. It would be incredibly dumb for a doctor to obtain an oral consent from a patient on the table for a substitute implant. Are there debatable points? I don't know but for the sake of discussion I'll take your word for it.

To begin, I would consult with an attorney and we would be glad to assist you with that process should you not be represented at the moment. I'll explain why:

(1) Your health and welfare is of paramount concern. You do not want to attempt to negotiate a settlement if you have little experience in this area.

(2) My guess is that this could be a case of a significant recovery and restitution. It might be reasonably straightforward for a medical malpractice attorney who may take the case on a contingency basis. This would be good for you as your costs will be minimal and your recovery could well be more than you would expect if you tried it yourself.

(3) You will likely want/need to document that the procedure was supposed to include implants of a certain size and to obtain records to prove this fact if you don't have all of them. An experienced attorney would know best how to accomplish document gathering and in the most expeditious and effective manner (the importance of the latter is paramount.)

(4) You are likely entitled to more -- pain and suffering as well. You may receive punitive damages if the act by the doctor was intentional.

I'm sorry to hear about what happened to you and hope that at least you can be happy to some extent.

Originally posted by lulu562
On September 5, 2003 I had a Breast Augmentation surgery.

During the consultation 2 weeks before the surgery I was torn between a 475 and a 525 cc and they insured me when I had the operation that both implants would be available at the time of surgery.

I had decided on a 525 cc base implant overfilled to 560 ccs. After all the paperwork was completed, and I was on the operating table, they were starting the anesthesia, and the Dr. runs in and says, we .... .... , we will have to go smaller,
Me : What?
Don't worry it will be okay
Me : Okay

A few moments later I was out and woke up with implants that were not what I wanted. Needless to say, I have lost a lot of sleep, wondering how this all happened. Called the Doctor on a few occasion, he keeps telling me to wait until they settle for a year. Here it is 9 months later. I am still unhappy, still losing sleep and cancelled the Drs. appoint I had scheduled for today.

While I was dreading the Drs. appoint this morning, not being able to return to sleep, I replayed the conversation determining the size, and realized that the Dr. continued writing down sizes that would accommodate the 475 implant. I continued to tell him that they promised that both implants would be available. He did not say anything, to the contrary, and then I wrote and initialed the size I wanted.

I just called the Surgery Center today, after my morning of thought, and discovered that the Drs. bring their implants with him, so, during the entire conversation where I kept saying the 525s he KNEW he did not bring them and decided not to say anything until it was to late.

If I had known the 525 were not available, I would not have decided on the 550s. I did not want the implant overfilled by 75 ccs because of the change in the shape and firmness.

At first, I just wanted my money back, so when I can get them the way I want, and now, after my new discovery, I want to take him out, and make sure he does not do this to anyone else!!!!!!

What am I entitled to?

I took 2 off weeks from work
Medication
Transportation

And, I found that removal and replacement is more expensive then the original surgery!!

Please advise. Do I have any grounds?