Parner
Unfortunately, foot surgeries have a generally bad reputation. Many patients complain that they have had foot surgeries that were either later deemed unnecessary, failed to solve the problem they sought help for, or necessitated subsequent operations. If you have been through a similarly miserable sequence of events, you may well be the victim of podiatry malpractice.
You need an experienced podiatry malpractice attorney who will determine whether you have a viable claim against the podiatrist who treated you. If so, a skilled litigator will be able to file a lawsuit on your behalf and fight aggressively to win you the compensation you deserve.
Damages Our New York Podiatry Malpractice Attorney Will Fight To Win
If misdiagnosis, failure to obtain informed consent, improper surgical technique, or some other wrongdoing has resulted in serious personal injury, the law entitles you to recover damages for:
- Medical bills
- Lost income
- Pain and suffering
- Permanent disability or disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
At Dental & Podiatry Malpractice Lawyers, we firmly believe that podiatrists who do harm to their patients must be held accountable. We will do everything we can to see that you receive just compensation.
Types of Podiatry Malpractice Involving Surgery
There are a number of ways in which your podiatrist may have slipped up and caused you physical and psychological damage, including:
Promising you optimal, unrealistic surgical results
In too many cases, podiatrists entice their patients into painful surgeries with long-term recovery periods by assuring them that the surgery is routine and will leave them pain-free.
Too many times, patients who have undergone a bunionectomy, metatarsal foot surgery, hammertoe surgery, surgery for Morton’s neuroma, or some other foot or ankle operation come away dissatisfied because:
- Their symptoms are unrelieved
- The doctor overcorrected the problem
- They find that they require a much longer period of recovery and/or physical therapy than they were led to expect
- They are informed, after all they have already suffered, that they will need more surgery
Deviating from the duty of care a doctor owes a patient
Podiatrists, like others in health care professions, may fail to “do no harm” by acting negligently, omitting necessary precautions or failing to anticipate possible risks to their patients’ health.
If, for example, your podiatrist [1] did not meet acceptable hygiene or sterilization standards [2] did not keep detailed records as required or [3] administered the wrong dosage of anesthesia or medication, he or she may be held liable for malpractice. Because the line dividing human error from deviation from the standard of care may be blurred, you need a highly qualified podiatry malpractice attorney to evaluate all available data.
Failing To Refer You to Another Specialist When Appropriate
Wise, ethical professionals are keenly aware of what they know and what they don’t know. While podiatrists are well-trained in their field, many foot problems may stem from other disease conditions. In a similar way, complications resulting from foot issues or from foot surgeries may move the case into other medical disciplines.
If your podiatrist has failed to have you consult with another specialist — such as a dermatologist, neurologist, orthopedic surgeon, vascular specialist, endocrinologist or psychiatrist when your symptoms (before or after surgery) clearly warranted a consultation, she or he may have been legally remiss.
It may be that you should have had more complex surgery instead of now needing a second surgery, that you never needed an operation at all, or even that the operation your podiatrist performed has done you more harm than good. If your podiatrist’s failure to refer you on has caused you serious injury, you may be able to collect meaningful damages for podiatry malpractice.
Failing to diagnose complications after surgery in a timely fashion
Even if your podiatrist performed necessary surgery correctly, it is possible that she or he missed red flags indicating that something was amiss during your recovery period. Terrible consequences have ensued when podiatrists have ignored symptoms like extreme pain, swelling, red, heated area of the skin, delayed healing, or thick scarring (keloids).
Some of these symptoms may be evidence of bone infection (osteomyelitis) or deep vein thrombosis (DVT). If not treated promptly, postsurgical complications like these can cause catastrophic consequences, such as amputation or pulmonary embolism, either of which may put the patient’s life at risk.
Failing to give the patient proper postsurgical instructions
As noted in the previous section, even once the surgical procedure is completed, the podiatrist has further responsibilities to the patient. These responsibilities include:
- Seeing the patient during the recovery period to evaluate the healing process
- Giving the patient careful, detailed instructions about medication dosages, permitted or required exercise, signs of possible complications to look for
- Instructing the patient about which activities to avoid, e.g. putting weight on the affected foot, running or jumping, wearing particular types of shoes
Have you undergone one or more podiatry operations needlessly?
If so, you should contact a sharp, strategic podiatry malpractice attorney as soon as possible.
Don’t suffer in silence. You do have recourse. We will stick by you in your hour of need and work hard to win you the damages you deserve.