Bad Diagnosis refund?

[mac05]

Jurisdiction

Florida

Hello all,

I visited a specialist doctor a couple years ago that misdiagnosed pain, advised me to complete a procedure and continued to see me for multiple follow up visits post procedure where the pain ended up getting worse......not better. This doctor created a separate new issue by conducing a procedure on the wrong body part that wasn't causing the pain.

I left the first specialist doctor after realizing that they misdiagnosed me and visited a second specialist. The second specialist doctor, with no additional imaging or outside data that was not available to the first doctor, correctly diagnosed the issue on the very first visit, ordered additional imaging to confirm the diagnosis and then suggested a procedure to resolve the issue. I completed the procedure with the second doctor. It resolved the issue. There is no gray area when I say resolve.

I pulled the medical records from both doctors and that's how I'm able to conclusively conclude the time frame and the diagnosis for both doctors as it was typed in their own words on both charts.

I reached out to the doctor attempting to settle this and received a threatening unprofessional response from their attorney. I also submitted a claim to the state board but they won't recover any money on my behalf.

I reached out to multiple medical malpractice attorney's and because I was insured and the base claim is under five thousand they aren't interested. They all advised me that because state laws require such a high threshold doctors are almost immune from losing lawsuits on small claims this like.

What would be the best way to hold the first doctor accountable and attempt to recover money I wasted on what was clearly mistake?

State is Florida

 

[army judge]

You had a choice. You used the ability to agree to the PROCEDURE, although you could have chosen to visit another more competent physician.

OOPS, too late now, time marched forward.

You could contact several attorneys in your state serving medical malpractice in an effort to determine if there is a legal path to a remedy. That's REAL, LICENSED MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ATTORNEYS. Otherwise, you're stuck with the alleged shoddy medical mistreatment.

Take a look at this medmalpractice attorney's website:

What Counts as Medical Malpractice in Florida?

Florida medical malpractice explained: elements, qualifying examples, presuit steps, deadlines, expert witness rules, damages (no caps), comparative negligence, and the current "Free Kill" law status, plus next steps for families.

percymartinezlaw.com

 

[adjusterjack]

What would be the best way to hold the first doctor accountable and attempt to recover money I wasted on what was clearly mistake?

Here are two very important questions.

1 - Exact from-to dates. When you started with the first doctor and when you quit him?

2 - How much money to you want from the first doctor? You need to be able to express your monetary damages in a dollar amount.

 

[cbg]

You will also need to provide medical evidence, in the form of testimony by other doctors, that the first doctor breached the applicable standard of care. A misdiagnosis is not enough in and of itself - medicine is not an exact science. For a court to order monetary compensation you will need to show that the first doctor's treatment was below the level of professional treatment that a reasonable person could expect.

 

[mac05]

Here are two very important questions.

1 - Exact from-to dates. When you started with the first doctor and when you quit him?

2 - How much money to you want from the first doctor? You need to be able to express your monetary damages in a dollar amount.

I'm leaving this data out because I have no idea if the other side is on this forum. I'm not trying to dodge answering questions. I can say it was within the last couple of years and its an amount under $5k for the patient responsibility portion. I was insured at the time, otherwise this would have been in the tens of thousands.

 

[mac05]

You will also need to provide medical evidence, in the form of testimony by other doctors, that the first doctor breached the applicable standard of care. A misdiagnosis is not enough in and of itself - medicine is not an exact science. For a court to order monetary compensation you will need to show that the first doctor's treatment was below the level of professional treatment that a reasonable person could expect.

This aligns with what I was told by attorney's I interviewed. It doesn't make monetary sense on a claim of this size, so thinking outside of the box is what may be needed here. This does not make sense on a traditional med mal claim, no small claims court is going to hear this.

 

[adjusterjack]

I'm leaving this data out because I have no idea if the other side is on this forum. I'm not trying to dodge answering questions. I can say it was within the last couple of years and its an amount under $5k for the patient responsibility portion. I was insured at the time, otherwise this would have been in the tens of thousands.

Last couple of years? Well, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice in Florida is 2 years from the date of discovering the malpractice. FL statute 95.11(4)(b). If you miss the deadline for filing a lawsuit, you get nothing.

Under $5000 and you were insured at the time. Better read your insurance. The insurance company likely has a right of reimbursement out of any award or settlement. You would have to sue for the "tens of thousands." That brings you well beyond the small claims limit.

And even in small claims court you are likely to need a medical practitioner to testify and present evidence. Your opponent will certainly have an attorney and medical practitioners testifying.

It's not as easy as saying "I've got a case for small claims court."

 

[mac05]

Last couple of years? Well, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice in Florida is 2 years from the date of discovering the malpractice. FL statute 95.11(4)(b). If you miss the deadline for filing a lawsuit, you get nothing.

Under $5000 and you were insured at the time. Better read your insurance. The insurance company likely has a right of reimbursement out of any award or settlement. You would have to sue for the "tens of thousands." That brings you well beyond the small claims limit.

And even in small claims court you are likely to need a medical practitioner to testify and present evidence. Your opponent will certainly have an attorney and medical practitioners testifying.

It's not as easy as saying "I've got a case for small claims court."

What is another option beyond a standard medical malpractice claim? The time is not the issue, its the money being too low for an attorney. It's worth it for me to peruse but not if I have to hire experts and then get destroyed anyway by an attorney on the other side.

 

[cbg]

There isn't another option. The only way you're going to get a penny is with a malpractice claim. Not just filing one but winning it. There isn't a doctor anywhere in the world who hasn't misdiagnosed someone at some point. If you can't prove malpractice you're dead in the water. If you don't have at least two other doctors claiming the first doctor violated the standard of care, you don't have a case. Period.

 

[zddoodah]

You can file a complaint with the Florida Department of Health.