I broke my thumb when a baseball hit me. I went to one of the emergent care facilities and they gave me a splint and told me to come back in...

Question

I broke my thumb when a baseball hit me. I went to one of the emergent care facilities and they gave me a splint and told me to come back in a week. I did and the Dr said it was healing fine. When a month passes I still can't bend my thumb, so I go to see my Dr. He sends me to a hand surgeon who tells me that I should have had a pin inserted in my thumb to correct the damage within the first week! Now the joint has healed terribly because of the wrong splint and the Dr's lack of referring me to the hand specialist. Is there any recourse that I can take because I need to go to therapy and possibly ultimately have surgery that may give me half of my range back and stop the pain.

Thank you in advance.

Pelton E

Answer

Dear Pelton:

Thank you for your inquiry. If after treatment you will be left with residual significant impairment of your thumb's range of motion or function due to any shortcomings in your initial treatment (and not caused by the baseball injury itself), you may be able to pursue a medical negligence claim. Please feel free to call me or one of my partners at Blume Donnelly to discuss your potential claim at no cost to you. I look forward to speaking with you and we will assist you in whatever way we can. (973)635-5400