No one goes into foot surgery expecting bad results. Unfortunately, some podiatric patients come away from their operation feeling worse than they did before, and a certain percentage of them are the victims of podiatry malpractice. If you live in New York and have suffered a serious complication after foot surgery due to your podiatrist’s negligence, you are entitled to meaningful financial compensation. The Law Firm of Lawrence M. Karam, P.C. will fight aggressively to help you receive it.
Why Foot Pain is Common and Foot Surgeries Can Be Complicated
For one thing, feet are under pressure with the full weight of the body on them a good part of the time, so it is difficult to relieve foot pain without keeping the patient from standing or walking. For another, the foot is a complex appendage with 26 bones (25 percent of the bones in the body!), 30 joints, over 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments, and an abundance of nerves.
Also, because your feet are furthest from your heart, blood circulation to them takes longer than anywhere else in the body. It is no wonder that such a sensitive, weight-bearing area is easy to damage and slow to heal.
Common Foot Surgeries
Although patients for whom the following surgeries are recommended may feel that a foot operation will resolve their pain and impaired mobility issues, too many of them suffer postsurgical complications, some the result of podiatric malpractice.
The most common foot surgeries include:
- Bunion surgery
- Hammertoe foot surgery
- Plantar fasciitis foot surgery
- Bone spur removal
- Achilles tendon surgery
- Morton’s neuroma foot surgery
If you have had any of these procedures and are experiencing complications such as ongoing or exacerbated pain, a serious infection, excessive bleeding, foot or toe deformity, nerve damage, and/or impaired mobility, now is the time to contact Larry Karam for a free evaluation.
A common bad result from bunion surgery leaves the patient with a great toe which is elevated off of the ground, or is so stiff it does not function well, is angling in the wrong direction, or the bunion deformity was never truly corrected and still remains. Not all of these are due to the podiatrist’s malpractice but often they are and if they are Larry Karam can help you.
He will determine whether your trouble is due to podiatric malpractice. If it is, he has the in-depth knowledge and well-honed legal skills to fight for your right to compensation. He will charge you no attorney’s fees until he recovers damages.
Types of Podiatric Malpractice Your Doctor May Be Liable For
Unfortunately, podiatric malpractice can take many forms, including:
- Misdiagnosis leading to unnecessary foot surgery
- Lack of informed consent in which the patient is not advised about the risks and possible complications of the surgical procedure
- Anesthesia errors that may (due to too little anesthetic) lead to breakthrough pain or (due to too much anesthetic) result in permanent injury or death
- Failure to take a full patient medical history or to pay attention to its contents, thereby aggravating allergies or pre-existing conditions
- Using improper surgical techniques or taking unapproved surgical “shortcuts”
- Making a surgical mistake, e.g. operating on the wrong foot or toe, severing a nerve or tendon, or leaving a foreign object inside the body
- Causing nerve damage that results in long-term pain, numbness, tingling, or odd sensations and makes standing or walking difficult
- Inadequate postsurgical supervision, e.g. failing to monitor or immobilize the patient after surgery or failure to instruct the patient about proper postsurgical home care
Contact Our Experienced Foot Surgery Malpractice Attorney Today
If you are suffering severe, unexpected consequences after a foot operation, don’t try to go it alone. Larry Karam is here to help. He is more than an accomplished podiatric malpractice lawyer. He is a caring human being, dedicated to seeing to it that you receive the justice you deserve. Contact him now. The sooner you reach out, the sooner he can begin working on a winning strategy for your case.