I had Surgury today and you will not believe this

[E7mack96]

Well, after nearly 2 years, my ins. co decided to pay for an MRI of my knee, and after that. . Surgury. Well, Today was the big day. Surgury on my left knee.



Guess what the F**K happens...







The anestesiologist knocked out my front right tooth. and he didn't even know he did it.



I woke up in recovery and realized my tooth was gone.



The nurse though I was joking. I made them do an x-ray of the type they use to track things and sure enough, it was in my stomach.



The hospital has agreed to pay all costs for a root canal, post, and porcelin crown.



Should I sue??



Signed,



Toothless Tony

 

[LSMITH]

LOL, be nice next time!!!



Seriously that sucks, a guy would think that knocking your tooth out would be kinda hard to miss I don't think I would sue as long as they cover the ENTIRE bill for the repair.

 

[WyoJim]

Its a wonder you are still alive. Did you know doctors are the third leading cause of death in the U. S. now.



Hammer em!!

 

[Joe G.]

I had to laugh when I saw the title to this one. The next thread was "The ribs are in the smoker". :-laf :-laf :-laf

 

[fbaurley]

Try to take him for what he is worth, that is what doctors have malpractice insurance for. I would be very ****** if this happened to me. Any attorney would take this case for nothing up front, because he knows he can make the 40 percent, because the hospital already knows they screwed up

 

[LSMITH]

I would like to point out that doctors don't pay their malpractice premiums, YOU AND I DO!! A society that sues over anything and everything is one of the lagest factors in the cost of medical care in our country today. Sure you can sue, but we ALL pay for it one way or another. It would be nice if suits were reserved for irreversible damage.



Just my opinion, don't really care if anyone likes it or not.

 

[Kernel]

IMHO, I wouldn't sue unless the facility did not follow up on their promise to pay for your dental procedures. Being in the medical profession, believe me, the MD that was responsible is probably getting more than his share. Most likely the incident will be filed in his record, and possibly follow him for awhile, maybe even resulting in a probation period.



This unfortunately is something that happens from time to time. I once saw a tooth that actually got stuck in the endotrachial tube (the tube they put down your throat to help you breath and administer the anesthesia). They were wondering why the guy had a poorly functioning airway .



Scott

 

[willyslover]

don't forget future repairs of that tooth... they [crowns ] DO NOT last forever

 

[NVR FNSH]

It's a tooth - BFD. It's not like it's going to affect the quality of your life. As long as the hospital/doctor cover the costs (present & future) and covers any lost work time I'd call it square. Think about it - if your tooth got knocked out playing basketball what would you do? Sue the other player? I certainly hope not. It was an accident.



I'm really disappointed that someone here on TDR suggested sueing over this. So much for the belief that all TDR members are good republicans.....



Brian

 

[tntway]

hhmmmmmmmmmm........

were you advised before the procedure that this DOES happen occasionally? it is a known complication. believe me... we don't let docs forget their mishaps anytime too soon. hat's off to the guys that said don't sue. it is just a tooth and it will pass.

 

[Ram4Sam]

Pathetic....

Pretty sad there are so many people with this "I'm a victim,pay me money attitude" Tony, not to trivialize what happened to you, as long as they take care of your medical bills, don't buy into this mentality.



Oh, and Brian "So much for the belief that all TDR members are good republicans..... " I couldn't agree with you more!!!



Sam

 

[sdalton]

tnt, that was funny. "the tooth will pass", literally. I wouldnt sue either. I would get in writing that the Hospital will pay for all reairs on the tooth. As well as future complications. Surrounding teeth could be effected due to bone deterioration after the roots are removed. Get them to agree to it in writing. If they do refuse to honor future complications then take them to small claims court and put the money away for future need. If you have dental insurance then have them pay the deductables and be happy.

 

[fbaurley]

It is not thst Im a sue happy person, it is just the fact that if you did that to him hed probably sue you. There are a lot of screw ups in the medical profession, and i think doctors need to be held accountable for there actions. The medical profession is not the precision industry tha they would like for you to think it is. I am not saying to sue for a million dollars, but I think some monetary reward should be given. If you are in an accident it is standard procedure to recieve three times your medical bills for pain and suffering, I dont see what would be wrong with that in this situation.

 

[klenger]

You might ask for some additional compensation for promising not to sue. I suspect they would jump at the chance.



I had a heart attack about 5 years ago, and went to the doctor within a few hours of symptoms. They never diagnosed the heart attack. I finally went to the hosipital after about 32 hours and they took care of it. The Dr's office charged my $55 for an office visit to not diagnose the problem. I sent them a polite letter suggesting they might want to reconsider the charges. I never heard from them again. I could have sued; I might have won something, but not worth it in my case. The heart attack was my fault, not theirs, and I had enought to worry about.



Good luck and hope you are feeling better. I suppose that therapy is next for you're recovery. It sucks.

 

[Leon R]

Wellll, up here in Canada eh they warn you in advance of the possibility of damage to your teeth. In particular bridges and crowns. At least they did with me about three years ago when I had surgery. They do that so they don't have to pay for damage. I think they call it informed consent prior to surgery.

 

[E7mack96]

I am not one to sue, but am tired of getting ripped off. I am fighting 2 different insurance companies from 2 seperate accidents that were not my fault. Noone wants to pay for mistakes. All I want is my front tooth back (or something very similar). I do not have it in writing that they'll pay for it, but they did call my dentist and told him to send all the bills relating to the tooth to them.



What really upset me at the hospital was the fact that the anestesiologist did not even know he knocked it out. At first, they thought I was joking. I had to make them do the xray to find it. ( if it was laying on the operating room floor, I wanted it) Since I am passing it Au Natural, I will not be putting it back in my mouth. The dentist said it would not be any good to him anyway.

 

[jwdeeming]

You know what they call a medical student who graduates last in his class?



Doctor. Isn't that scary?



I figure there's a reason they call it a "practice".



My wife is a surgical nurse in a heart room. She tells me one of the last steps of any procedure is to count tools before they sew somebody up to make sure they don't leave anything behind. Tonight I'll ask her if they've ever encountered the missing tooth problem.



I'd be inclined to vote with the "don't sue" crowd. But with my luck, as soon as I signed a liability release, some unimaginable complication would come up and I'd be sorry.



How about, "don't sue, but give a lawyer $100 to review any release you sign, just to make sure the bases are covered"?

 

[Straight6Jeff]

Good thing you were not going in for a vasectomy. Umm doc... . something is really missing... ...

 

[Kernel]

Yes, they call it informed consent. Usually the consents are pretty cut and dry, even listing the obvious like there will be bleeding involved. If something is not listed, especially on an elective surgery, and that something happens, it is on the facility to make things right through corrective surgery, etc. It is best to bring the subject up before you are discharged, as is the case with the tooth and the x-ray verifing that it was in the stomach.



Scott

 

[NVR FNSH]

Originally posted by fbaurley

Try to take him for what he is worth, that is what doctors have malpractice insurance for.

Your words not mine.



Regarding 3x damages for pain & suffering. Give me a break. He was out cold when the tooth was knocked out - no pain or suffering involved. People have root canals/crowns/bridges done all the time without a significant amount of pain & suffering involved. As long as the hospital & doctor take care of the tooth it's a done deal. I would expect the doctor to come by and apologize for his mistake.



I guess I should have sued Mobil for their basketball court floor being too sticky and causing me to tear up my knee. Oops, I forgot about that release of liability I signed before they would let me play in their gym. No, I wasn't a Mobil employee.



Brian