I’m looking for some advice. My husband recently injured himself at work. He drives a forklift. When he came in one morning, the seatbelt was broken, but he was told to drive it anyway. Then, of all things imaginable, someone drove another machine into his. He fell, broke his arm, and seriously bruised his pelvis.

We’ve talked to a lawyer about suing for his work injury, and the lawyer thinks we have a case. That’s great, because of his medical bills, but now we have another problem.

My husband’s doctor prescribed him some painkillers for his arm. We told him that my husband had addiction issues earlier in life, and he said he’d give a light dose to help avoid that and to be careful about taking the pills only when prescribed on the bottle.

We reluctantly agreed, and we took the pills with us. It hadn’t been three days, and already my husband was sneaking pills. He wasn’t being honest with me about it, but I kept a count and I kept a journal. I contacted his doctor, but the only advice he gave was to throw away the pills. When I asked for something else for the pain, he said he could give another prescription but that they all had some addictive qualities.

This, obviously, wasn’t much help. I confronted my husband about the pills, and he admitted it and apologized, but he said he still needed them, that he grew anxious without them, and that his arm hurt when it went more than two hours without taking some (the bottle says he should take two once every eight hours).

In the end, I took the bottle and flushed them down the toilet. My husband is having a tough time with all this. He’s been shivering on the couch for the last day, in a cold sweat. He says it’s worse than the last time he went through withdrawal years ago. He’s begged me to call the doctor and get more pills.

Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s an easy solution to any of this, but my question isn’t about my husband. It’s about lawsuits. Is there a case for medical malpractice because our doctor prescribed pills knowing my husband is a former addict? Our other lawyer doesn’t deal with medical issues, and the lawyer he recommended charges for consultations. Since my husband isn’t working right now, I don’t want to spend that money if the answer is no.

Does anybody have any idea if I should pursue this? I’ve looked at some lawyer sites, but I don’t see anything that is directly related. Perhaps improper treatment? Would that count? And how much would we be entitled to if we pursued this?

Please, if anyone has any advice let me know. I don’t know anything about the law, but I think this is a time-sensitive issue. And besides, I want to collect all the evidence I can if there’s a case to be made.