Does anyone have ideas on what I can do?

Unusual complication = malpractice? First of all, I think my surgeon did an excellent job. What happened was NOT his fault; he has never had this happen before in 22 years. However, it IS the hospital's fault. Basically, I received a second-degree burn on my back where the cauterization unit's grounding pad was because the cauterization unit was not functioning properly (it's not supposed to work at all if it's not 100% grounded). The burn was 12 inches wide and 4 inches high, and here at a month post-op, it still has at least another month of healing to go. I am going to have a huge scar and the plastic surgeon I talked to said it's going to be hard to get rid of it with my tummy tuck because of the location of the burn. I had to stay out of work longer than I wanted to because of the possibility of infection (my doctor still wants me to stay home but I just can't afford to at partial pay) and I still have a lot of pain. I also cannot take a bath or swim. I have spent over $100 on dressings already and have more than a month to go. My doctor filed an incident report with the hospital, but I think the hospital should pay me for the hell they've put me through. (I have a photo of the burn on my website on the scars page if you want to see it at 11 days post-op.) Has anyone got any experience with this, or ideas for me?

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