negligence or malpractice?

Hi All~
Has anyone had to pursue legal consult or some kind of retribution for medical negligence?Most all of us on this site have had to endure quite a LOT of treatment or possible mis-treatment thru this long & winding journey...
I'm wrestling w/a problem w/my new onc. (actually the PA) wrote the chemo order for my treatment plan incorrectly...I was (supposed to be)getting Abraxane/Herceptin q3weeks x 3 cycles.On my last cycle, the chemo nurse noticed that the order was for Abraxane@ the q3week dose combined w/the weekly dose (1/3 the correct dosage) of Herceptin.This didn't look correct to her, so she checked into it.
I just had my scan to check out response; unfortunately there was little/no response.Previously Taxol/Herceptin has worked liked fireworks for me, but each drug indepently, not so much...it seems that there was no synergy btw these 2 drugs at this disproportionate combo, but we'll never know really what happened b/c of this mistake.
Now I'm in store for more, new chemo & trying to make decisions about what to do from here.I'm confused & have so many questions, like am I really non-responsive to A/H, or is it b/c the combo was dosed incorrectly?Do I go back to Taxol/Hercep, but what if I'm resistant to taxanes now?I'm so frustrated b/c these are questions that I shouldn't have to ask, but b/c of the screw-up, things are more complicated!
Would so appreciate any feedback~
Prayers, faith & courage...despite it all!!

I do not think you could ever win a case, as to prove malpractice you must show that what was done/not done was "below the standard level of care in the community" AND that it "harmed you" There is no "standard of care" in something so new and experimental and you cannot "prove" with cancer's ability to become resistant to treatments by finding new ways to grow, that you were harmed. He/she could be "put in probation" by the hospital he works at (if this was not done at a private office) where they would monitor him/her for a while to make sure dosing was correct. I am not trying to "cover " for this doctor, just playing the devil's advocate and telling you what you would be up against!
Most studies show dosing Herceptin weekly and every three weeks to be equivalent, but they really just don't know. Are there other oncologists in your area with experience with Herceptin?
As things evolve, I hope people will not be stuck in trials which bind them to a particular location, etc.

Good luck!

Lani-
thanks for your response & input.i'm certainly not looking for a lawsuit-i've got bigger fish to fry-like making the difficult decisions about treatment, surgery etc.
i have, unfortunately, experienced a couple of significant "oversights" during this 3 year journey.on this specific occasion the PA altered the orders for my chemo treatment, crossing out the words "q3weeks", writing "error" & marking the incorrect dosage, despite that it is clearly documented in the notes that my regimen was to be q3week Abraxane + Q3WEEK Herceptin x3 cycles. i've spoken w/her (as well as the onc, many clinical managers, etc)& there's no explanation why she altered the order...personally, i think she wasn't paying attention to what she was doing, or who's chart she was writing in. as a result i did not receive the treatment i was supposed to receive & that constitutes negligence.
the bigger issue is how do you (& any/everyone on this site) deal with the mistakes, oversights, human error,etc. that seem to be inevitable when dealing with a disease process as complicated as this?aren't we entitled to reparations, especially since it is our lives & survival at stake?

"the bigger issue is how do you (& any/everyone on this site) deal with the mistakes, oversights, human error,etc. that seem to be inevitable when dealing with a disease process as complicated as this?aren't we entitled to reparations, especially since it is our lives & survival at stake?"

The problem for most of us with bc IS usually the question of "lost opportunity"/negligence, which is no small thing, even just in terms of the additional emotional burden. You are not alone.

While many of us can successfully demonstrate negligence of one kind or another, it is harder prove damages--not because we usually can't prove damages, we often can--but it takes a lot of money up front to pay for the medical specialists that analyze the situation and the data and then testify in court in our behalf. For example, if you are a person who had a huge income to begin with, you can probably demonstrate sufficient loss of income as damages to pay enough to cover the time and testimony of the specialists; if you only make an average income (even if the legal issues are identical) you may not.

So much for any illusions of fairness under the legal system...

IF we happen to still be alive as well, most of us are busy struggling just to keep moving ahead with whatever treatment we have and to keep our personal lives together while we get through it. Adding a legal battle to that is no small burden.

I pursued my issues to the point where they had to be dropped based on the fact that my full-time year-round job does not pay enough to equal sufficient damages from lost income to balance out what it would cost to bring the case to court. At present I am NED, but yes, statistically speaking the negligence affected my likely morbidity and mortality. Basically, until I am no longer NED or until perhaps I am dead, the increased anxiety due to the negligence is considered to be of little or no "value". For the moment I can stand aside; but I feel that if my status changes for the worse, emotionally I don't know where to put that kind of pain.

All because of the negligence of a person trained, licensed, and well paid, who made plenty of money from "taking care" of me.

A.A.

Jessica,

I empathize with your situation as we has to deal with an "error in judgement" that almost cost my wife her life and we are still dealing with the fall-out with on-going chemo, etc.

It's like this, and I've told this story before: when Linda became ill we made a conscious decision to live life to its fullest, focus on what is important to us, (that being eachother and family and having fun) and never look back. We also know from past experience that you can't isolate or compartimentalize anger, that if you are pissed-off with someone or something, it doesn't take long until you are pissed-off at the world. We decided that that's not the way we want to live our lives, or waste them for that matter.

We work with our medical people, stay on top of things through resources like this board offers, and try to prevent future "errors in judgement". We have become the "human error police", not the "human error judges".

Take care,
Al

I like Al's positive focus. But sadly unless some of us who are the wiser for our own experience with sloppy medical providers find a way to act as "judges" as well as active monitors of our own care, the negligent behavior continues with the next patient that comes down the line, and collectively has a significant impact on breast cancer patients.

A.A.

thanks a.a. & al~
hearing from both of you has helped soften the edges of a really prickly subject! just sharing our experiences, good & bad, on a site like this, with folks like you has been such a gift. right now i'm focused on how to address my upcoming tx., though i do have some thoughts re:reparations i believe i am due. but that is on the back burner for now.
however, consider this...say you had a unique, incredibly valuable car that required very specialized oil in order to run properly.you took that car to a service station that understood your needs and agreed to use that very specialized oil. but, when you picked up your car, you discovered they used something other than what you agreed upon. even if the oil change guy apologized, took full responsibility & expressed regret, you would NOT be expected to pay for a botched job, nor for the service to correct the mistake, would you?
shouldn't we expect the same level of committment to provide the correct SERVICE from our healthcare providers? we are paying a very high price for their services-financially, as well as with our survival...
thanks for letting me vent...the best revenge is SURVIVING despite their negligence.