When a Hunter Should Sue
Most lawsuits I hear about are completely ridiculous and the people are out to get nothing more than a quick paycheck. That being said…
I think my Father should sue.
One day, about 3 years ago, he started seeing a tiny spot in his right eye if he looked in one specific direction while turning his head in one specific way. The next day it got a little bigger so he immediately went to the eye doctor who didn’t know what was happening. The eye doctor sent him to a specialist. However; the specialist couldn’t see him for about a week.
By the time my father got to see the specialist, the vision in his right eye was almost entirely foggy and blurry. He could barely see out if his right eye. The first thing the specialist says? “The eye doctor should have sent you to the Emergency room immediately.”
Something in the back of his eye started bleeding and the gray foggy spot was the blood spreading over his retina. If he had been sent to the emergency room instead of waiting for a specialist they could have cauterized the bleeding and he would still have his vision. It was too late to do anything and unfortunately he is now blind in his right eye.
I didn’t really think much about it until this year.
He’s been hunting for 50+ years with his right hand and eye. When he first lost his vision he spent a lot of time trying to learn to shoot with his left. He even bought a new single shot rifle just to practice with.
This year my father shot at a few deer but he didn’t get one. He took a lot of crap for it too. My father, the expert marksman, who had officers placed bets on his accuracy while he was in basic training, has gone from getting 5 deer a year to 0.
Before you say it’s because he’s getting old… Bullshit. He gets around and travels the woods more than most guys in their teens and twenties, myself included. He shot at more deer than anyone else I know this year too. He still has issues pulling up on his left is all. I could go into details but that’s not really the point.
The point is, some screwy eye Doctor doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing and could likely cause someone else to lose their vision too. A few things just made me realize it’s affected my father more than I originally realized and more than he lets on.
My Father should Sue.
In the meantime, if you see a gray fuzzy spot in your vision, go to the emergency room not the eye doctor!
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Tags: blind, blood, dad, dale, deer, doctor, emergency room, eye doctor, hunter, hunting, lawsuit, specialist, vision
I concur, it sounds like a straight forward malpractice claim.
And, by the way, your father is partially blind and he can still get a hunting license?
He doesn't use his right eye anymore, he's being perfectly safe so there's no concern there. Not sure what the regulations are but there's no eye exam just to renew (every year) so… yep!
Was his eye doctor an optometrist or an ophthalmologist? The difference being the first is not a doctor – it’s a license to measure your eye and sell you glasses, the latter is a doctor and you might get somewhere in a lawsuit with that person.
I agree, anyone specializing in eyes should at least know enough to realize what pooling blood looks like and send the patient to the right place.
As far as going immediately to the emergency room, that is your choice. My input though, is that there are other things that could cause that symptom, such as cataracts and side effects for some medicines (I have worked with clients that have had both). So maybe get to your regular practitioner immediately and see what he/she says would be another option for some.