posted
Is there any legal action that can be taken when we have been misdiagnosised by Drs?
I am not a sueing person and I now have wonderful Drs. I am just trying to think of some way to bring attention to this illness.
I have spend 20 years being sick and last Dec I found out that it was lyme disease. I had the western blot from Igenex so there is proof in black and white.
Now is there any type of class action suite that we could join to gether and file? I don't know much about anything like this and I am sure that people that are much smarter than me would have done something if it could be done.
I live in a state that does not get any reconigition for lyme and I am learning about more people here with this illness.
If so would that help us get more trained Drs that would be able to treat us?
I guess this is all just a dumb idea but thought I would mention it anyway. travis
[ 09. December 2005, 09:52 PM: Message edited by: travis ]
Posts: 29 | From south | Registered: Dec 2005
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Loribelle
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6293
posted
IMO misdiagnosis happens often, for a lot of different reasons. And different diseases. Lyme is quite complicated, I guess you know that.
I am afraid that this kind of post would discourage any doctors to take a Lyme patient at all... What is needed is education, not threats of lawsuits. Though there are certainly exceptions.
Remember, doctors read Lymenet too. I understand and share your frustrations. Believe me. And I understand the need to vent. We have to keep in mind that ~correct~ diagnosis and treatment is the goal, education is the only way I see.
I see this is only your 2nd post. Welcome to Lymenet. I highly reccomend reading the newby links posted in General and Medical. Good info there!
Posts: 1149 | From southeast iowa | Registered: Sep 2004
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just don
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1129
posted
I look at it this way. Look at all the regular patients that the doctors HAVE helped with other medical problms. if those ducks werent there, what would sick people do? Non lyme things of course because they dont recognize us as a 'problem'. Ever sue somebody successfully because of their "opinion". And they call there work a "practice". Problem is you have to prove your case beyond a shadow of a doubt and there are too many conflicting opinions and camp "A" supporters. Just like they call our good treatment violating the "standard of care" principles. And experimental and non-proven therapy so insurance doesnt have to pay, if they dont 'want' to!!. Hint-- Just concentrate on getting better and helping others. Life will be a bit better for it. Only people ever win a lawsuit is the attorneys. They drink the wine while you get to stomp the grapes!!! And end up with the pitts!! AND who would do all the 'other' real medical needs of the world??? Cuz I be--just don--
-------------------- just don Posts: 4548 | From Middle of midwest | Registered: May 2001
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posted
I wish I could find some one to blame foor the suffering I have gone through, but I can't. I just want to get better.
In order to get well, we have to see doctors. In order to see doctors, we have to pay them - health insurance, or not. I had the opportunity to learn about what happens when the world is overcome with malpractice suits, and it is not pretty. My medical bills in Singapore, where health care is provided by the government, and they haven't heard of medical malpractice was cheaper, and thought they didn't know anything about Lyme, they weren't afraid to travel off the beaten path to help with my symptoms. Try to get that from a doctor here.
Don't get me wrong. My docs almost killed me with my antibiotics, and they will hear about it, but try to get better and then look back at things. If you still feel like you've been wronged and can't seem to move on, do what your heart tells you.
-------------------- Sometimes when I say �Oh, I�m fine� I want someone to look me in the eyes & say �tell the truth�
posted
I was not thinking of me sueing but some of the other people that I have talked to recently, that can't afford a LLD.
I do get angrey when I think of the Drs I saw that I had less than 5 min visits and a 200.00 bill. Now I have great Drs and would stand up for them any way I could if they ever needed it. But my concern is for the other people that I hear from.
One lady in my state that was going blind and had a positive elisa test from her eye dr, and then went to a larger center to see a
infectious disease specialists and a neurologists they would tell her we don't have lyme in our state.
She got better after doxy until it ran out then she was seeing things. She did not have the money to pay for these drs that just talked down to her.
The years I spent going all over the place does stir me up and I just want to do something to get some belief in this is a real disease.
I would not sue anyone. But as a group of sick people it just seems that speaking out and letting some of these people that call there selves Drs know that we are not that dumb.
The Drs that I have now I could not replace and it scares me to think about not having them. I feel very co dependant on them.
But how do you get Drs to quite treating people like they are generic humans.
I am not feeling very good at the moment and when I do get better I want to speak out about this illness. I talked to a another woman that was elderly and she had gone to a large research hospital in TN and they gave her three weeks of antibiotics and told her she may not ever get any better. They also told her not to believe anything she read on the internet.
She was not feeling any better and didn't know what tests she had but knew that lyme showed up and they were having her make trips back just to draw her blood. There are some caring Drs that want to be a Drs, then there are the ones that don't care and are not going to listen and don't want to learn.
I would think that finding the truly caring Drs and trying to educate them would be in our best interest.
I had someone call me and say that they thought that at some point there should be a suit of some type. This was someone that has been sick longer than me and had actually sent ticks for collection to one of the state wildlife resource agencies he was helping the Dr that the lone star tick was discovered by. So it was several years ago.
There were a lot of the ticks positive and he said that the results were never published.
I don't mean to go sue just maybe as a group if someone has an experience with these type of Drs that say we don't have lyme in such and such state then we join forces and send that dr lots of literature. With lyme growing like it is then if we don't what is going to happen to future generations and not enought Drs trained to diagnosis and treat lyme.
travis
Posts: 29 | From south | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
I have been thinking about being proactive as well. I have had many doctor who looked long and hard in their speciality to see what was wrong. But I have also had alot of doctors literally raise their voice and scream at me.
There are two doctors in particular that need to be told how sick I am w/ Lyme. I was thinking of writing them a letter explaining that I had Lyme when he was treating me and he needs to know that giving me those steroids for my shortness of breath made me worse. And checking for clearness in my lungs doesn't mean that I do not have shortness of breath.
This way a few people in his practice will see it before he does hopefully educating more people.
Suing only makes people defensive and the medical boards are giving our LLMD hell and making them compromise.
Tara
-------------------- Mitakuye Oysain (we are all related) Posts: 34 | From OH | Registered: Nov 2005
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