From the Files of Powell and Denny

From the Files of Powell and Denny

Today in “From the Files of Powell and Denny” I want to briefly recount a medical malpractice case I had in the mid 90’s.

I was in the Huntsville office on an otherwise nondescript day when I received a phone call from someone who said they had recently had bunion surgery and they wanted to talk to a lawyer.  We discussed the problems she said she was having since her surgery and scheduled her to come in for a free consultation.  She said she had an appointment to see her podiatrist the next day and would like to come in afterwards-so we scheduled her an appointment.

She was a very nice woman who said that she had had pain and discomfort since her bunion surgery.  What she was really afraid of was that she was not healing the way she should.  She was scared and said that she had talked to her podiatrist about her concerns-but that he said she was healing nicely.  I think she really was hoping that I would talk to her and ease her concerns, so I asked her to take off her shoe and let me have a look, and when she did-I could easily see that she had serious problems.

We called an orthopedic surgeon’s office and made her get on the phone to schedule an emergency appointment as gangrene had already set up in her foot.  We documented everything we could and she saw the surgeon and had to have a partial amputation of her upper foot.  Once we had the official diagnosis, we contacted the initial doctor’s malpractice insurance carrier.

We were able to put together the pieces of the puzzle to figure out what had happened in our case.  The podiatrist initially misread the darkness that had set up around the surgery site as some residual blood-a blood blister, and when the site started turning color, draining and started to have an odor-he freaked and thought that if he just kept saying everything was healing nicely the foot would eventually heal.  Unfortunately for our client-positive thinking was not enough, but we were able to help our client obtain a six-figure settlement.

Mistakes happen, and that doesn’t mean that the person who made the mistake is a bad person, but the reason we have insurance is to ensure if our mistakes harm another then they can be taken care of financially.

If you have suffered an injury due to the negligence of another and you have questions about your rights, don’t hesitate to contact and speak with one of our experienced attorneys today for a free consultation.  Appointments are available in person at one of our offices-or via Zoom for your convenience.

Powell and Denny: We Work When You Can’t

Offices in Birmingham, AL and Huntsville, AL

Powell and Denny have been selected as one of the Best Law Firms by U.S. News and World Report for each of the last 9 years, have been selected as one of Birmingham’s Top Lawyers by B-Metro Magazine for the last 5 years, have been selected by The National Advocates as one of the Top 20 Workers’ Compensation Firms (plaintiffs) and Powell and Denny, P.C.-has been selected as one of the “Best of the Best” law firms by The American Registry.

Mr. Denny is AV rated by Martindale Hubbard (the highest rating possible) and Mr. Powell has been rated as Superior by The National Registry

+ Powell and Denny have successfully represented injured workers from Birmingham, Huntsville, Florence, Muscle Shoals, Tuscumbia, Athens, Decatur, Town Creek Ardmore, Hartselle, Madison, Toney, Scottsboro, Ft. Payne, New Hope, Guntersville, Albertville, Boaz, Ashville, Anniston, Gadsden, Cullman, Jasper, Gardendale, Morris, Kimberly, Centerpoint, Leeds, Tarrant City, Fairfield, Hueytown, Bessemer, Adger, Tuscaloosa, Cordova, Alabaster, Pelham, Harpersville, Opelika, Phenix City, Montgomery, Clanton, Calera, Enterprise, Monroeville, Mobile, Evergreen, Alabaster, Pelham, Trussville and towns and cities in between.

 

 

From the Files of Powell and Denny