Do I have a right to sue the first hospital for malpractice

The question you have to ask yourself is whether the first radiologist caused you to suffer any damages by failing to diagnose the fracture. Was it a displaced fracture, or merely a hairline fracture? It was probably a hairline fracture because a displaced fracture would be almost impossible to miss. If it was a hairline fracture, did the second hospital provide any actual treatment once they recognized the fracture? If the second hospital merely prescribed pain medication, then very little, if any, actual harm was caused by failing to diagnose the fracture correctly to begin with. In other words, assuming the first radiologist correctly recognized the hairline fracture, what would he have done differently? If the first hospital prescribed pain medication (which they probably did) then the answer is: nothing. If that is the case, then no damages were caused by failing to recognize the fracture, and you probably do not have a very strong lawsuit. If you want to be sure, I would recommend that you consult with an attorney. Nothing herein constitutes the formation of an attorney/client relationship.

This sounds like malpractice to me. However, the only way to legally prove malpractice in Court, is retain a doctor who opines that the original doctor failed to treat like you an ordinary doctor in the community would have. In other words we need another doctor, or even the doctor at the second hospital to state that there was malpractice.

In malpractice cases you can only get up to a maximum of 250 in General Damages in the State of California (pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, etc.)

You only have one year from the time you learned of the malpractice to file suit. In these types of cases it is critical that you retain an attorney as quickly as possible. You may call me for a free consultation at 800-816-1529 ext. 1.

Norm

I also agree that this sounds like medical malpractice. You should retain a lawyer right away. That said, medical malpractice cases are extremely difficult for attorneys because all the other doctor/radiologist would have to do is hire an expert witness who will agree that all that you needed that first day was x-rays, the x-rays were negative, and that they acted reasonably under the circumstances. You would need to hire an expert to testify that they did not act reasonably (and that they should have taken more tests, etc.). Then, it comes down to whose experts the jury is more likely to believe. Another factor here is that you were smart and went back 5 days later and the correct diagnosis was made. So, other than 5 days of unnecessary suffering, you will have no damages (presuming that the shoulder will eventually heal completely).

One important thing to note is that if the first hospital was a public hospital- then you only have SIX MONTHS from the date that you discovered the malpractice to file a tort claim against the public hospital uner the California Tort Claims Act.

Either way, don't waste any more time. Get yourself an attorney right away..