Question Hi my name is Erin I was in a car accident almost a year ago i gained allot of
injury's on my RIGHT side and 24 hours after my surgery they rushed me into
surgery cause on my LEFT lower well leg, I had compartment syndrome the
pressure was at 88 by the time they checked my leg! I guess I'm wondering
how the heck did this happen?? on my left side when there was nothing
wrong with that side??? how didn't the nurses notice my leg till the pressure
was at 88 ??
Answer Yours is a tough one. My guess is an embolus lodged in an artery in your left calf and caused the compartment syndrome. Another guess would be that the straps used to hold you still and safe on the table would have compressed an artery serving that leg and so clots would form and block blood flow through the compartment.
You could talk to a malpractice lawyer, but I am afraid not many are going to help. Compartment syndrome usually follows leg surgery on that leg. Lawyers will have to spend some money to get an expert to review the records for your case, and that will discourage them. Your records will have to show that something was done to your left leg by the doctors, and chances are nothing was done to your left leg. If straps held the leg too tightly against the table, nothing in the records would describe that.
Why didn't the nurses notice anything? First, your left leg had not been injured and so it was not involved in any of the medical care. A nurse would have to notice some symptoms or signs: cold, blue feet; nails that are purplish in color; loss of pulse in the foot; pain; tight skin over the calf. They would have to make an effort to check these signs, and if you were not complaining, they would have no reason to check the left leg.
You do not mention damage to your leg as a result of the delay in diagnosis. In order to sue a doctor you need to have him perform some kind of treatment that caused an injury that deprived you of earnngs or some function. Because you do not mention this kind of event, I do not believe you will have a successful malpractice lawsuit. But ask a lawyer just to be sure.
