Home > Research Legal Advice > Medical Malpractice > Do I have any type of case of medical malpractice or negligence?
Asked 10 months ago - Los Angeles, CA
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Quick background. This past Saturday morning my mom was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm (un-ruptured). Her mom died of a brain aneurysm when she was 13, her older sister suffered 2 and died of the second.
For the past 2 years my mom has been suffering horrible headaches, been depressed and had funny mood swings. Anytime she would go see our doctor the doctor would chalk it down to menopause and/or bad migraines and would prescribe her migraine pills. 2 weeks ago her headache was so bad she went to the doctor and demanded to see a neurologist because of her family history in which the doctor replied "Well it's not like they died of migraines".
With my moms family history and the 2 years the doctor spent ignoring her family history, do I have any type of case?
Thanks, appreciate any help.
You don't have any case at all; your mother would have a case, if there was anyone who did, and if she wanted to spend time and effort pursuing one.
A doctor hasn't committed negligence or malpractice simply by being WRONG; a doctor commits malpractice by being wrong because he or she didn't do what a reasonably careful doc would have done in the same circumstances.
Based on this description of the events, you would not have a case. This is because the cerebral aneurysm had not ruptured. Therefore, had the aneurysm been diagnosed say, 10 months ago, the treatment would be the same then as it will be now. In other words, no new injury has been incurred for which the court could compensate. I tend to agree with your suspicion that the aneurysm should have been diagnosed sooner. But without a damage model, a lawsuit would not be able to do anything for your mother.
The CA deadline to file a lawsuit is just 1 year. To get a truly reliable legal opinion, you would need to consult with a California medical negligence lawyer and explain all the facts, medical history, and have the medical records reviewed.
First you would need a doctor to say that the undiagnosed brain aneurism caused the 2 hears of migraines. Secondly, you did not say what the current doctor’s plans are for treatment of the aneurism is going to be. If your mother is going to have no permanent injuries as a result of this failure to timely diagnose the aneurism then is may be hard to find an attorney since the only damages could be 2 years of headaches.
Good luck.
This sounds like a difficult case to prove.
Timothy K. Hobbs II
Attorney at Law
Web: Hobbs Law Group
Email: t.hobbs@hobbslawgroup.com
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