Wednesday, September 17, 2008

A Big Loaded Question

As I sit here contemplating the meeting yesterday (I will update that later, I just do not have the energy right now & I am still trying to figure out what to do), I can't help but wonder...

Why didn't I sue the doctors (my OB/GYN & the NICU dr) for malpractice? I think that in regards to the NICU doc we had a pretty clear case of it. Maybe if I had, I would have enough money to get MM all the therapy she needs & not have to fight with the freakin' school system to get her what she needs. Maybe if I had, I could afford a private school that is more than willing to do the right thing. Maybe if I had, I could just have her get her private therapy (which does an awesome job). Maybe if I had, I could quit my job & be able to better care for her needs & not depend on those yahoos in the school system to do it. Maybe if I had, I could pay for a private aide to attend school with her. Maybe, MayBE, MAYBE...

How about you others that are affected by CP? Did you sue for malpractice or wish you had?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is still a painful subject for me. It hurts to know that someone else was responsible for your child's condition. It hurts even more to realise that there is nothing you can do about it. We were busy with the legal side of things, when he passed away. It remains something that is constantly on my mind. What gets to me is that we need to sue them for money - which is great because money can't fix your child BUT it makes it a hell of a lot easier to cope with the circumstances around the care. I truly wish that one could sue and ruin their lives the way they did my son's. We are working on that. The thing is that now...he is no longer there and therefor we have no future expenses. They might just get away with a slap on the wrist- and we somehow have to pick up pieces. So yes, as answer to your question...I think that it should be something a parent must do when their child is hurt through negligence. Yes, they are humans and make mistakes. But, as in any other profession, you need to pay for those.

Angela said...

The thing that goes over and over in my mind about our situation is I called and called and called and my dr. was basically frustrated with me and kept telling me to lay down...she was condescending and finally when Jason got home from work (an hour or so after my call) she said we could go in "if we wanted to" and rid herself of us. Too bad I was fully dilated at 25 weeks with no turning back...I don't think it was malpractice, but had she told me to go in right away maybe something could have been done. We were so different with Morgan we used a different hospital (ah, the one with the NICU) and when I had early contractions with her we called to tell them we were coming (not so much questioning if we should, just letting them know we were on our way). So I partly feel like it's my fault too.

I am so sorry you're feeling this way. I don't remember the circumstances around MM's birth -- I am here to listen if you ever wish to share.

Lots of love to you...

jamie said...

i'm still trying to decide....i do think in my case that if certain things had gone differently surrounding milo's birth then he wouldn't have the problems that he does...i've been in contact with a lawyer and they want to take on my case but i have yet to sign the paperwork....it's been sitting in a drawer for a couple of months. it's a hard decision and one that i'm definetly struggling with.

Melanie said...

Well we had a smooth delivery with Daniel and his CP is not from his birth but because of a birth defect (brain malformation) and there are times that i wish I had someone to blame besides myself. But I fully agree that if there was negligence that they should be made to help with the medical issues that are waiting for you with your child. Yes I agree with carina's comment.."they are human and make mistakes" but if it can be proven that they were just not doing their jobs they should pay, but of course if they did everything they could humanly do, and the child still gets CP....well then that those are differnt circumstances.

BTW I have an award for you but I see that you are ever so popular that you already have one!:)

Mommy07 said...

My son does not have CP, however he had a very traumatic few days after birth ( severe brain swelling, seizures). We have been monitored by a neurologist for the past 10 months to make sure he didn't develop CP, and so far we are in the clear.
Ultimately the Dr.s believe it was a "transient" insult, that he was oxygen deprived at some point during L&D. They were and are still SOOOO careful about the wording they use, my ex-gyno wouldn't even look me in the eye after his birth...it was and is a big mess. Should I sue, maybe..am I going to....probably not. I am trying to heal myself and count my blessings that so far Noah seems to be "lucky".

Such a tough call though...

Unknown said...

That is a great question, but I know that because of myincompetent cervix, I just simply went into labor to early, and the dr.'s tried to keep her in longer, but Regan refused to be stopped. There is no way I can sue for my bodies reaction to pregnancy. By the way I really like your blog! I have a 12 yr old with CP, that you can read about at my blog. I will add you to my list!

Trish ~CnJ's Mommy~ said...

{{hugs}} I hate decisions like the ones we need to make as SN parents.


Wanted to let you know what we are doing on the 4th...come check out our blog!

Anonymous said...

I do wish I would have. And there are two lawsuits that should be filed we have had two differnet hospitals mess up my daughter even more than she was before. Now she's wheelchair bound and non-verbal. talk about frustrating when she's in pain and can't tell you where or why. And asking her about her day at school and she can't tell you why it was good or bad and all you have to rely on is the teachers whom you'd like to think that you can trust.