posted
last fall, when i got bitten, i had a rash (not bullesye but a weird rash nonetheless.
then i had all lyme symptoms.
doc said i didn't have lyme and took me off the doxy after 16 days.
symptoms continued and got worse, obviously.
then when i tested positive by another doc 7 months later, i was sent back to the original (id doc). he said i had acute lyme, which we all know is bull%*^#.
i recently got a copy of his letter/report of my first visit, which he sent to my primary. in it he states i had no headaches, muscle pain, neck pain, etc...but that is exactly why i went to him and those were my complaints!!!!!!!!!
what can be done?
just on history and symptoms alone he should have diagnosed lyme.
ugh.
i am already financially ruined. i think he should pay for all my treatments. and then some.
-------------------- do your best to educate the rest because 9 out of 10 doctors don't know jack about tick borne illnesses Posts: 437 | From shawangunk mountains, ny | Registered: May 2008
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NanaDubo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 14794
posted
nyjohn - on the home page there is a legal resources section.
I just happened to look and one of the topics is " how to file a complaint against a NY doctor. Don't know the location of your doc.
Don't know if that will get you any $ but at least you can complain!
Posts: 1129 | From Maine | Registered: Feb 2008
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
if we did that, practically every doctor i know would be sued!! i've gone to about 15 doctors before i got a diagnosis.
and i'd like to sue one for rude and abusive behavior, but hey, that ain't gonna happen....just didn't go back.
i think it would be a long and slippery path to take tho...
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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Angelica
Unregistered
posted
If you go to canlyme.com there is an article on that site about about a young US student who did sue and win because he had LD and his IQ dropped as I recall due to the fact he was not diagnosed and treated in a timely manner.
He won his case but someone told me he never did receive the money he was awarded so perhaps the clinic or MD he sued appealed the case.
I would think you would need to prove damages like this young man did by proving his IQ had dropped.
I have lost any faith in the legal system in the USA and have zero faith in lawyers. Dealing with lawyers for me in the past has been a very negative stressful experience which is not a good experience for anyone dealing with Lyme disease.
Good luck and if you do try and sue I hope you do win and get awarded some money. It does irk me that so many doctors do not know how to diagnose and treat Lyme disease when their lack of knowledge does damage their patients yet the ducks continue to get away with being ignorant.
If more people did sue ducks perhaps future patients would get diagnosed and treated sooner with a better outcome.
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
-
Actually, yes.
I recall one woman who won a case against a doctor who failed to either even consider or recognize lyme and she was later, by another, found to carry it and was very ill.
It was in New England - several years ago.
Sorry, I do not have more to go on.
It would still be a horrible way to pursue justice as the IDSA says lyme is really no big deal regardless. So, even if you were successful in proving negligence you'd need a tip-top attorney to bring out the real research that would topple the whimpy IDSA approach to lyme / TBI.
The time lapse, even though you may not have been bitten again, would be tricky in a court.
If you had a friend with time and emotional and financial resources to inquire about this, you might.
But many of us here have had clear rejections from doctors and it's still a very fuzzy thing to prove.
With limited resources (especially energy and money) few TBD patients who have been injured by doctors have been able to stand up for what should have been.
Treating the infection(s) and just taking care of oneself requires a tremendous amount of a patient's resources. Much gets left in the dust.
sparkle7
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10397
posted
Re:
I have lost any faith in the legal system in the USA and have zero faith in lawyers. Dealing with lawyers for me in the past has been a very negative stressful experience which is not a good experience for anyone dealing with Lyme disease.
I can agree with this. The courts are very corrupt.
I don't have a positive lab test. My lab test for Lyme was negative but my doctor gave me a clinical diagnosis. I actually had 3 negative tests for Lyme. I would have liked to sue someone for all of this but it's just not in the cards for me.
Especially, the original doctor (a specialist in rhumatology) who diagnosed me with fibromyalgia after a 7 minute examination & the general practicioner who didn't have a clue, either.
This was also in NJ - ground zero for Lyme. One would think they would know better.
Posts: 7772 | From Northeast, again... | Registered: Oct 2006
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
john,
at 1st i was madder than hell since i'd seen 40-50 drs. during 34 long, painful years.
then while educating myself about lyme, and learning 300 OTHER ILLNESSES MIMIC LYME .... AND ALL THE OVERLAPPING SYMPTOMS ... i gained compassion.
they are NOT gods! the IDSA is where all the BS is that has caused us to go so long without proper diagnosis and LONG ENOUGH TREATMENTS!!
if you go to activism, you can search for the posts on CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS....it's been discussed and cussed many times!
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Angelica
Unregistered
posted
From the Cecil Whig newspaper (1999)
Jury awards $1.7 million to Cecil teen
By Carl Hamilton, Whig Staff Writer (Maryland, USA)
ELKTON - A civil jury awarded more than $1.7 million Monday to a Port Deposit teen who suffers long-term health problems because local physicians failed to diagnose his Lyme disease.
This is believed to be the highest award of damages in Cecil County history, according to veteran lawyers and court officials.
The six-member jury deliberated nearly eight hours before concluding that Chesapeake Family Practice Group on High Street in Elkton breached the standard of medical care when treating Aaron Murray.
That breach, according to the jury, directly resulted in Murray's physical problems, including his IQ reportedly dropping as much as 29 points.
Murray was 14 when he became a patient at Chesapeake Family Practice Group in 1995. He is now 18. The jury also decided that Dr. Joseph K. Weidner Jr. breached the standard of care. However, his breach didn't directly lead to Murray's physical problems.
Weidner still practices medicine at Chesapeake Family Practice Group. In addition, the jury exonerated the remaining defendant, Dr. Leila A. Kirdani, concluding that she didn't breach the standard of care. Kirdani now practices medicine in Buffalo, N.Y.
The jury originally awarded a total of $3.2 million, but Circuit Court Judge O. Robert Lidums reduced damages on one count because it exceeded a state cap. Under a count addressing the plaintiffs' pain and suffering, the jury wanted to award Murray and his mother, Gail Johnson, 41, $2 million.
The cap is $515,000, however. It awarded more than $1.2 million to cover Murray's loss of future earnings. And the jury awarded $64,000 to cover past medical expenses.
The defendants' attorney, Robert C. Morgan of Baltimore County, could not be reached Tuesday for comment.
Ira C. Cooke of Towson, Md., who represented the plaintiffs, believes this verdict will caution other doctors. "I think this is an important case because it puts the medical profession on notice that anything less than top-flight medical care will not be tolerated in Cecil County,'' Cooke said.
Cooke handled this case with Elkton-based lawyer Douglas R. Cain. In October, Cain represented a local plaintiff who was awarded more than $1.6 million in damages.
Until this verdict, that was the highest amount of damages awarded in this county. The jury in this most recent case returned its verdict after a two-week trial.
Chesapeake Family Practice Group failed to offer its physicians training or directives relating to the prevention and detection of Lyme disease, the plaintiffs maintained. Cecil County is a high-risk area for the disease.
According to the lawsuit, Johnson and her son sought medical attention at Chesapeake Family Practice Group on April 1, 1996 because the teen exhibited numerous symptoms indicative of Lyme disease.
The teen had "every single'' symptom, including fatigue, a rash, swollen glands, nausea, flu-like symptoms and aches and pains in the joints, Cooke charged. But Murray's condition went undiagnosed despite several more visits to the medical practice, Cooke said.
The defendants didn't even conduct the simplest of diagnostic tests - a blood test, he added. Staff doctors diagnosed Lyme disease after Murray collapsed with seizures in a hospital emergency room in August 1996.
Hospital doctors relied on blood test results. The defendants countered, however, that Murray had Lyme disease only a few weeks before collapsing at the hospital - not several months before the incident.
Approximately six weeks before the episode, the teen discovered a rash that could have been a telltale of Lyme disease, according to Morgan. Yet, Murray and his mother didn't seek medical attention at Chesapeake Family Practice
Group between the time of his rash discovery and his collapse, Morgan maintained. The plaintiffs contended that there was an unnecessary delay in treatment and that it caused Murray's IQ to drop significantly.
His IQ was measured at 115 in 1995, they reported. Two recent tests registered Murray's IQ at 86, and a third placed it at 103, according to testimony.
His lawyers claimed Murray was unable to complete the ninth grade as a result. Last week, Murray provided emotional testimony about the various abilities he has lost in the wake of his prolonged bout with Lyme disease.
If detected early enough, according to his attorneys, Lyme disease can be easily treated without lingering health problems.
The teen broke down on the witness stand, reducing jurors, the judge, his lawyers and others in the courtroom to tears.
During his closing statement last Friday, Cain reminded jurors that Johnson made 72 unanswered phone calls to Chesapeake Family Practice Group in several months.
She was concerned about her son's worsening condition, Cain said. Weidner called Johnson a "hysterical mom'' while talking with the woman about her son's case, the mother testified.
Morgan didn't dispute that Murray visited the medical practice numerous times since January 1995, when his family became clients.
He also didn't deny that numerous phone calls were made on Murray's behalf. But many of those phone calls and visits related exclusively to the teen's asthma and other ailments, such as sinus infections and stomach problems, Morgan said.
Morgan called the plaintiffs' case a "fishing expedition,'' and he accused their lawyers of preying on the emotions of jurors.
"Clearly, the medical care rendered in this case met the standard of care,'' Morgan said in his opening statement.
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