Was my doctor negligent? Your opinions please.

[MineralMan]

51. That was a couple of years ago.

The thing is that it can be difficult to remember exactly what was said by anyone from two years ago. The doctor did tell you that your elbow had healed poorly. At that time the degenerative disease might not have been very advanced. If the doctor didn't know that you were thinking of taking a job that required lifting and arm extensions, he or she may not have mentioned the degenerative disease, figuring your limited motion problems would limit your use of that elbow.

I don't know, of course. But it also may have been mentioned and been forgotten. I don't know that either, but I know that when I visit the doctor, I stop immediately after the visit and make some notes about what he or she said to me. That's because I know that I will forget some of it within a reasonably short time.

I have tendonosis in my left elbow, too. It's diagnosed. If I overuse that arm, which is my dominant arm, by lifting and carrying heavy things, it gets worse. My doctor diagnosed the tendonosis, but didn't offer any suggestions about limiting activity. I learned my limitations myself. Now, I carry loads with my right arm, and avoid overextension of my left arm, out of habit. So, there's no pain, normally. However, if I forget or have a reason where I need to use that arm more than usual, it lets me know that I need to be careful.

It does sound like you chose a job that caused further injury, and that's not a good thing. I'm very sorry that you are experiencing additional pain and suffering, but I doubt that there is any case against your physician. Since what you were told or not told can't really be proven, I doubt there's much recourse in a legal sense. Since it was a verbal thing, it becomes simply one person's word against another's. It's all very unfortunate.

I hope you can get treatment that will help.