unfortunate accident Attorney help

peppy · 11-02-2007, 07:04 AM

As you may know my wife and I lost one of our twins in March. We were told that it was an unfortunate accident.

We have given the medical records to an attorney that would like to have a doctor review them further, but he wants us to pay $1000-$1500 for this.

My wife and I are not looking for a lottery settlement, we just want to know more about what happened than it was an unfortunate accident.

Is this a fair price or should we shop around?

Cdnone1 · 11-02-2007, 07:40 AM

My wife and I had a very unfortunate medial incident with our son.
When we consulted an Attorney there was no up front fee. He had the files reviewed at his expense and advised us on recommendations. We ended up hiring him after the review. He made plenty of money off the case. His fee structure was a percentage of the settlement (if won or settled) plus his hard out of pocket costs (fax phone photocopy etc). If we didn't win or settle he only got his out of pocket expenses, which where pretty substancial as it was.
Our suit involved the potential for a reasonable settlement so I imagine he was willing to risk paying the doctor out of his own pocket to see if the case was winable. I don't really know what type of arrangement he had with the Doctors and I'm not trying to suggest something, but most Lawyer's have arrangements with the type of specialists they use.
I'm sorry to hear about your loss, but if you enter into any type of legal action you and your wife should be prepared for a very emotional time. The other side will do everything they can to make everything look like it was your fault or anyone else's but theirs. They also have the right to ask very personal questions. Losing a child has to be all of ours worst nightmare and you will have to re live it in depositions, court etc.
Just be prepared for it. My wife and I where not and it was very hard on us and our marriage.
Good luck. We will keep you in our prayers
Steve

livi · 11-02-2007, 07:47 AM

Truly sorry for your loss.

I have done many such reviews. Double tragedy you should need to fork up so much money for it. For whom is the fee ? The attorney or the doc doing the review ? I for sure never saw any extra money for trying to explain why their child died. Naturally it has to be an obligation formally and ethically for the hospital /attending pediatrician to make sure the parents have got all the information they need! Explained in terms that parents can digest! It should of course not cost any money - that is absurd!

Or am I missing something here ?

peppy · 11-02-2007, 07:48 AM

Our attorney had the same arrangement about us not paying unless he wins a case, but this was such an odd case that there was no info on it. I have search the internet and found nothing that was like this. I think this is why the lawyer wanted us to pay for the doctor to review the files.

peppy · 11-02-2007, 07:51 AM

Livi the hospital did explain what happened, we are letting an attorney review the records to see if everything was done correctly. The hospital said that they had never lost a child from this.

livi · 11-02-2007, 08:00 AM

I see. I would be more than happy to take a look at it but it would of course be of no formal use for you and you are probably not comfortable with a complete stranger and durn for'ner across the Internet.

The way you put it, with the hospital claiming this never happened before, I must say you have triggered my professional curiosity though.

I hope it works out for you and, again, sorry for your loss. It is completely horrible being the attending pediatrician in these situations and I can´t begin to imagine what it must be as a parent although I have attended these tragedies many times.

peppy · 11-02-2007, 08:10 AM

Livi they also never sent bills or turned anything in to our insurance company. I can see the team that was there when the accident occurred not billing, but the surgeon that tried to fix the problem did not bill us either.

Nathans_Dad · Nathans_Dad's Garage

I'm very sorry for your loss. I really can't explain why the lawyer would want up front money to have a physician review the files, $1500 is about what it would usually be for a physician to review the case and write a summary. Usually the lawyer pays for that and the other legal fees and then takes a cut of any settlement as payment. My only thought is that the lawyer feels that there isn't likely a case there and so isn't willing to pay for the review? That's all I can think of.

Echo the above regarding lawsuits. They are ugly and it ceases to be about who did "right and wrong" almost immediately. It becomes a game of chicken between the two sides to see who will blink first and settle while trying to make the other side spend as much money as they can. It's really pretty sad to see.

I would suggest thinking about whether a lawsuit will accomplish anything for you and your family. If you really feel that a physician made an egregious error in the case and you think he/she should be punished for that or you want to try and prevent that physician from making the same mistake in the future then a lawsuit would be a viable option in my opinion. Realize though, as I'm sure you do, that sometimes bad things happen and it isn't anyone's fault. Again, I know nothing about the case and apologize in advance if I'm off track here.

Again, very sorry for your loss.

MRM · 08:18 AM

It sounds like that is the fee is the doctor charges for reviewing the records and offering an opinion. If so, that's about right. Doctors are expensive to have do medical reviews but you can't get that information any other way. I've been through somewhat similar experiences. I would recommend doing the medical review. I think it will give you some closure and peace of mind.

Edit: It is not uncomon to have the client pay certain fees up front, especially when there isn't necessarily an expectation that the case will turn into litigation.

peppy · 11-02-2007, 08:18 AM

Rick you are right, a lawsuit is not going to bring him back. My wife and I just want more answers. We are not out to punish anyone, we just want to find out what happened and why.
I know we may never know more, but I have to try.

peppy · 11-02-2007, 08:20 AM

Thanks MRM, the fees are for the doctor.

Gogar · 11-02-2007, 08:22 AM

If you are truly looking only for more information, may I suggest you find a trusted physician friend to look at the case for you and remove the attorney from the situation unless it's necessary.

peppy · 11-02-2007, 08:31 AM

Gogar, we thought that the physician would have to be a neonatologist, and I did not think I could just call one.

911teo · 11-02-2007, 08:37 AM

Peppy sorry for your loss. I can't give you an opionion on the fee. I just wanted to say that you'll be in my thoughts.

cstreit · cstreit's Garage

I'm very sorry to hear this... I think in the long run it would be worth the peace of mind, to learn from a Dr. that you had to pay, what happened considering they are telling you it was an "accident".

My thoughts are with your family.

Nathans_Dad · Nathans_Dad's Garage

I would doubt that a neonatologist would be willing to review the case for free and give you an opinion. The money isn't the issue, it's the liability that is the issue. If that doctor says "Well, I might have done X differently" then they open themselves to being a party to that suit and being called to testify.

I assume you have talked to the neonatologist that was involved in the case? If not that would be my first step. If you make it clear that you just want to understand more about what happened they should be willing to sit down with you. Unfortunately if you bring a lawyer into the mix, the information pipeline will shut down and all communications will be through lawyers.

The physician reviewing the case is going to write a summary of the case and (sometimes) an opinion on whether the case is worthy of moving forward on. I'm not sure what else they will be able to tell you beyond that.

It sounds like you are searching for closure and a way to be at peace with losing your child. I'm not sure that another doctor or a lawyer or anyone for that matter can help you with that. Personally I would turn to God, but that's my personal religious beliefs.

peppy · 11-02-2007, 09:41 AM

Thanks Rick. God and the other son keep us going.

Nathans_Dad · Nathans_Dad's Garage

God bless man, I have no idea how I would deal with losing one of my kids.

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by peppy

Livi they also never sent bills or turned anything in to our insurance company. I can see the team that was there when the accident occurred not billing, but the surgeon that tried to fix the problem did not bill us either.

These are all pretty big red flags that they did something wrong. You bill for everything you do regardless of outcome, unless you are thinking, "If we don't charge them, they will like us more and be less likely to sue."

The grand is to pay the doctor who is going to review records. Your attorney does not want to go out of pocket on this, but you probably already have a contingency arrangement for payment that should put expenses on attorney. Since you already spoke to an attorney, it is likely that he will do all your communicating for you

Nathans_Dad · Nathans_Dad's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tobra

These are all pretty big red flags that they did something wrong. You bill for everything you do regardless of outcome, unless you are thinking, "If we don't charge them, they will like us more and be less likely to sue."

I disagree with this Tobra. There have been instances before where I chose not to bill someone and it wasn't because I felt I had done something wrong. Often times if the patient dies I won't bill for running the final code or whatever.