[Original post date: March 29, 2018] Time for a health update blog, a personal one, difficult to write with a mix of questions and a couple stories about medical practice and procedures. The point is My Attorney Reader, I want you to think about Me as a forensic rehabilitation consultant, and how I can help you help your client who is involved in a medical malpractice lawsuit!
My husband’s heart took a detour late summer, 2017 when the ticker was running really fast. Randy doesn’t participate in races (I’m the competitive one), but his heart sure was! 
Randy donates blood on a regular basis. He’s donated 14 gallons according to the blood center sticker on our front door! In fact, he was donating early on a Saturday morning when the nurse was prepping him for the draw told him she thought his pulse was “strange”. However, his precious blood was still drawn (double reds)! 
Randy is a popular Type A- donor.
Questioning here ??? Should the nurse have continued with the blood draw knowing the pulse was “strange?” Well, she did! Luckily, no harm done. When Randy got home (rode his bike at what speed I don’t know! to/from his blood donation date which is common cuz he’s an avid biker!), I took his pulse and in fact, it truly was “not right”.
A couple days later, he had a doctor appointment. Yes, I scheduled it out of wifely concern. Sure enough, we got tachycardia his heart was going 144 bpm. This means a cardiologist is needed. I want to thank the nurse at the blood center for catching this heart irregularity (ahem hubby, I told him I thought the same thing in the weeks before).
Following an array of testing, diagnostic procedures and preparations, he received an ablation early November 2017. Thank God it worked! Randy’s back down to a regular beating heart and a normal pulse. His blood pressure was never a concern.
His cardiologist did an excellent job and Randy was back riding his bike in a short period of time. He wasn’t happy to be told not to ride! In fact, I know he disobeyed his doctor’s orders one day or two.
We expect our doctor to always be right. We expect our nurse to always be right. We expect all our health care providers to always be right. We in fact, expect our bodies’ to become “right” whenever we receive treatment in the medical field.
But things can go wrong and a patient can become injured during the course of treatment. That’s why we have attorneys to help, right!?! And yes of course we expect our attorney to always be right, too!
“Dr. NeverWrong”, the cardiologist who performed the ablation on my husband’s heart has this nickname! Charlie the RN, one of Randy’s excellent nurses while hospitalized told me of this nickname and the fact that the cardiologist has a fan base. He is one of only a few docs in town who performs ablations. Because the doctor was humble, gracious, and ever so respectful, I’m sure he would not want to be called by the nickname Dr. NeverWrong! Can you guess who I’m referring to?
What? Attorneys don’t guess!
Okay, now on to me. Recently, I was involved in a medical situation which could be worthy of a claim. How do you help your clients decide whether to file a claim? If there’s been harm done? Here’s the abbreviated personal story.
When preparing for a mammogram last October 2017 (sitting quietly in a heated gown!) and waiting for the machine set up, I informed the technician of an unusual skin issue I was experiencing thinking it was poison ivy.
I’ve had my share of poison ivy issues, even a four day hospitalization for a severe case in the past (contacted through an outdoor camp fire.) Watch out when you burn wood, my reaction was horrible. Anyway, the technician dismissed my concern and we went ahead with the mammogram.
To not go into detail uggh ; [ I ended up with a severe skin condition I believe was spread by the mammography machine. Let it be known I truly love big machines, (especially cranes), yet this large machine is not one of my favorites following what I experienced.
I was absolutely miserable and the condition lasted too long. I ended up going to the ER once on a Sunday and urgent care twice during the weeks that followed. I made these visits because I couldn’t stand the physical and emotional toil…and my doctor’s office wasn’t open at the time of my needs! Not until I went back to my personal MD to finally get the correct diagnosis and a prescription did I begin to feel a little better.
But the prescription did NOT help and in fact the condition worsened. I literally had to just wait this one out and deal over time with the largest organ in my system: the skin. I was so distraught I sought mental health care. I’m okay now, thank you! Whew!
I didn’t file a claim, should’ve/could’ve I? The time, energy, money and definitely my mental health was compromised and consumed in a fashion that I certainly didn’t choose. The only time I have filed a legal claim was when my parents sued the railroad for their negligence leading to my car/train collision and subsequent injuries, hospitalization and rehabilitation.
Trust me, my Attorney Reader, there’s much to my personal story!
I think the key into what makes or doesn’t make a person seek a lawyer when they think they’ve been wronged has to do with respect or lack of respect shown by a medical provider. Of course, everyone makes mistakes.
But negligence, followed by covering up issues and not telling the truth is where the wrongs and not the rights come in to play. That’s not where I come in just yet, that’s where you, the attorney is on the field. I enter the game by sorting out what the plaintiff needs and the costs of those needs.
If you need a life care plan for a client who has filed a medical malpractice claim, please contact me. Following a needs assessment and subsequent life care plan, my recommendations are grounded in rehabilitation. I’m not saying I’m always right myself.
But I will tell you My Attorney Reader, I care and I will do what I can do to help you help your client.
Please don’t contact me if you will act more like the red devil lawyer on the left. Sorry, I’m not interested in helping. However, if you are a good attorney like the white angel on the right who truly cares about your clients, contact me! I’m here to help!
Amy E. Botkin, MS, CRC, CLCP
Forensic Rehab Consultant
515-778-0634
amyebotkin@lcpresourcesplus.com
Thank you for taking some of your valuable time to read this post! I hope you enjoyed it.
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My professional consulting practice focuses on helping attorneys help their clients with civil litigation matters.
