Legal Assistance for Medical Errors
Questioner
I underwent surgery for an aneurysm. In my opinion, an anesthetist made a mistake, which caused me to suffer a partial spinal cord injury. After many years of waiting, this case was passed on by a judge to a mediator, who had to determine which of the two insurance companies was right. I was/was not right. After checking, it turned out that the mediator was the trainer of the anesthetist, while the mediator reported to the judge via his expert report that his judgment had been 'impartial'??? My lawyer advised me not to block this ruling, because otherwise the judge in question would become angry, which would be to my disadvantage. I did not do this. After this came the verdict that I had to accept that I had lost this case. When I approached the judge in question about this, he informed me that I had been given the opportunity to respond, but that I had not done so. He could do nothing more for me and instructed my lawyer to discuss this further with me. From the beginning I have indicated that there are many shortcomings in the expert report and also in the reporting for it. According to my lawyer this would be brought up later, which is now no longer happening and for me apparently all avenues are closed.Lawyer
I can imagine that the judge's decision is very disappointing for you. It seems that there is a final verdict of the court. In that case, you have the possibility to appeal within 3 months. If you do not do so within 3 months, the verdict of the court is irrevocable. So even if the expert was not impartial, you can no longer do anything about it if you did not appeal or did not appeal in time.Lawyer
If I read your message correctly, there was an expert report (called a mediator by you). This expert ruled that no mistakes were made. You disagree with this and indicate that the expert knew the doctor and therefore apparently did not judge completely impartially. Normally you get the opportunity to respond to the report. Apparently that did not happen. I don't know if there is a final verdict by now, but what you could still try is to indicate that there are weighty arguments to set the report aside. If this is honored, the court will not use the expert report. The weighty argument is that the expert could not have been impartial because he was the trainer of the anesthetist. Good luck!Questioner
I received the following message from my lawyer: “Our medical advisor has responded to the expert’s concept. This was a bit too early???. We must first indicate whether or not you will block the report. If you block the report, a judge can attach the consequences he/she deems appropriate. This is therefore often not a sensible option. Should I confirm to the expert that you will not block the report and then request him/her to respond to the content of the response of our medical advisor?” I did this at the time, after which it turned out that I could no longer respond to the report. When I subsequently wanted to point out to the judge, via the clerk, his responsibility regarding the appointment of an impartial expert, I received this message: 'Because the expert had still not responded substantively to my e-mail in June, I called the parties' lawyers and asked about the state of affairs. I then learned from one of the lawyers (perhaps that was you) that the procedure had been settled, which means that the court is of the opinion that sending the concept to the parties is no longer relevant. I informed NN of this by e-mail of 28 June. For illustration purposes, I am sending you a copy of the email correspondence. This concludes the proceedings before the court. I request you to discuss the above with your client and assume that I have informed you properly. I never spoke to my lawyer again after this.Lawyer
Blocking means that you forbid the doctor to forward the report to parties. That is indeed often not wise. If I read it correctly, your medical advisor did look at the case and assessed the report. Did you receive this as well? Is the procedure suitable after that? Has there been any consultation with you about this? I would like to hear from you. You can also email me directly.Neem de volgende stap
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