How Competent Is Your Surgeon?

A friend of mine was recently in the emergency room and was told that she needed an emergency appendectomy. Since her surgery was not scheduled, she was admitted to a room to wait her turn in the O.R. During this time I went to her home to pick a few things for her. While I was there, I decided to go on-line to see what I could find out about her surgeon.

What I discovered was alarming. The surgeon that was on call and assigned to her case had been sued, and settled, five medical malpractice lawsuits. My friend was in a lot of pain and I knew my telling her it might delay her surgery; but I felt she needed to know what I had discovered.

When I discussed the medical malpractice claims with her, she was unsure at first as to what she should do. But I asked her if she was having elective surgery and had found out this man had been sued five times for medical malpractice, would she still have selected him as her surgeon? Her answer to me was “No”, and then she said “why should he be selected for me?”

We contacted her primary care physician and were given the names of two surgical groups to whom they refer their patients. She notified the hospital staff immediately and asked to see one of the other surgeons. She did not to reveal the true reason for the change. She merely said that after talking with her primary care physician, she wanted a second opinion. As it turned out, the new surgeon had a much better bedside manor and was much more compassionate towards her.

Now the surgery was “only an appendectomy”, and the original surgeon would probably handled it with no problem. However, my friend went into surgery feeling like she was in the care of a good physician who truly cared about her. And that is all that mattered.

If you were told you must have surgery, would you know where to go to find out about your surgeon? In the State of Florida, law requires three entities -- insurance companies, self-insurance funds and joint underwriting associations -- file reports of alleged error, omission or negligence by insured doctors, dentists, hospitals, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), abortion clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, and crisis stabilization units. The information is available to the public through the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation website where you can perform a search to learn if any claims against your physician have been settled.

A surgeon’s malpractice history is an important factor in trying to decide whether you want a specific surgeon to operate on you. And if you select one who has never had a medical malpractice claim against them, even the finest of surgeons can a make mistake. And if he or she was negligent in handling your medical care, then they should be held accountable.

The Board Certified Civil Trial Attorneys at Wooten, Honeywell, Kimbrough, Gibson, Doherty and Normand, P. A. have the litigation experience and financial resources required to take your medical malpractice case all the way through to trial if necessary. We have working relationships with countless expert witnesses who know how to review the evidence and make informed opinions. We have successfully handled medical malpractice and negligence cases against physicians, surgeons, anesthesiologist and nursing homes.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sandra_Grinnell