I need to join a medical malpractice class action lawsuit. lyme disease

[smc635]

Jurisdiction

Florida

Hi Everyone. AS it turns out, I have had lyme disease most of my life. Most likely contracting it in 1978 when I was 12. For approximately 30 years after that, I saw dozens of doctors who all misdiagnosed me with things like depression, sleep apnea, and Fibromyalgia. It turns out this was most likely an intentional misdiagnosis as a group of lawyers in a Texas Federal court are in the process of proving. Because I was intentionally misdiagnosed, I was never treated and have suffered numerous health related concerns such a stroke and it's resulting partial paralysis. Two of the named insurance carriers in this suit that has been working its way through the courts for about three years now were my insurance carriers when I was seeking a diagnosis. It looks like this case is going to be won as I have learned that the defendants are in settlement negotiations. I am a textbook member of this class. I have reached out to all plaintiff attorneys by phone, email and postal mail but none are responding to me. I am hoping to find an attorney that can help me navigate whatever steps are necessary to join this class, and once that is done, help me negotiate a settlement. This has destroyed my life and my damages are in the $millions. Any help or advice will be sincerely appreciated.

 

[zddoodah]

For approximately 30 years after that, I saw dozens of doctors who all misdiagnosed me with things like depression, sleep apnea, and Fibromyalgia. It turns out this was most likely an intentional misdiagnosis as a group of lawyers in a Texas Federal court are in the process of proving.

Huh? Why would "a group of lawyers in a Texas [f]ederal court" be trying to prove anything relating to your medical treatment?

It looks like this case is going to be won as I have learned that the defendants are in settlement negotiations.

Settlement and winning are completely different things. Upwards of 85% of civil cases settle.

I am a textbook member of this class.

What class? And what does "textbook member" mean?

my damages are in the $millions.

That's awfully unlikely.

By the way, are you talking about Torrey v. Infectious Diseases Society of America, Case No. 17-190 (E.D. Tex.)? If so, that case is not a class action and only involves the couple dozen named plaintiffs and the numerous insurance company defendants (as well as a small handful of doctors who are or were board members of IDSA). The case has nothing to do with doctors misdiagnosing patients. If that's not the case you're talking about, please identify what case you're talking about.

 

[adjusterjack]

I also found the Torrey case. There are three case numbers listed on PACER.

5:2017cv00190

1:2018mc00525

1:2019mc00195

Public Access to Court Electronic Records

Once you get through reading the material that Z posted you can check PACER for additional details about the cases.

 

[smc635]

Millions of people have lyme disease and the attorneys sued on our behalf.

Ok so defendants settle cases they are going to win? If so, why?

I lost the use of the left side of my body.....for life. How much is that worth to you? This also does not take into account decades of suffering.

I was told by the attorney it was a class action. I then applied to be a member but never heard back.

 

[army judge]

Millions of people have lyme disease and the attorneys sued on our behalf.

If you say so, I won't dispute it.

Ok so defendants settle cases they are going to win?

No litigant KNOWS if he or she is going to prevail insofar as a lawsuit is concerned.

However, litigants settle lawsuits for dozens of reasons.

The most common reason is a bird in the hand is worth a covey in the bush.

If so, why?

No human being can ever say DEFINITIVELY why other human beings do anything.

Sometimes the person doing something doesn't know why they were driven to do the thing they're doing.

I lost the use of the left side of my body.....for life.

That is most regrettable.

My son-in-law lost his life serving in Afghanistan.

No one knows why tragedy strikes one person and ignores a million others.

Life ain't fair, and none of us will live forever.

How much is that worth to you?

I made over 1,500 parachute jumps, over 400 in combat zones.
As a result of those jumps, I had to have a cervical resection.
Before that surgery, I lived in intense pain for over 20 years,
I never complained, just endured.
I was thankful to still be alive, in possession of my mental faculties with my extremities intact, having lost many comrades in combat.

That said, there is not enough money in the universe to compensate me for the loss of one of my limbs.

It is regrettable that a disease caused you to lose motor skills on the left side of your body.

Hang in there, because someone has something that will improve your condition.

You must endeavor to find him, her, them.

I was told by the attorney it was a class action. I then applied to be a member but never heard back.

Maybe you applied too late to join the lawsuit.

Keep searching, there just might be other lawsuits pending, or even starting.

The information awaits you as you type your inquiries and search the interwebz:

Patient lawsuit against IDSA and insurers moves forward in Texas

Lyme Patients vs. CDC: Class Action Suit

Lyme Patients File Civil Suit Against Insurers/IDSA/IDSA Panelists: Update! - Lyme Disease Association

Torrey vs. IDSA/Insurers Lawsuit Update: Proceedings Delayed 'Till Feb. - Lyme Disease Association

Lyme Lawsuit — The First Epidemic

 

[Tax Counsel]

Millions of people have lyme disease and the attorneys sued on our behalf.

Help us out then and identify the particular case you heard about and would like to join. Without knowing the case there is isn't much info anyone here can give you regarding whether it might be something that could help you.

One of the biggest problems you have with what you want to do is that diagnosis is the job of the doctor. Yes, a lot of people have lyme disease. I know two of them myself, and know how difficult that disease can be. And in order to sue a doctor for malpractice, you must file the lawsuit within the applicable statute of limitations. In most states that's going to be 3 years or less from the date of the wrong diagnosis. This means that it is way too late now to sue most of the doctors you've seen over the last 30 years.

Also, you have to prove the doctors who diagnosed you were negligent. That wouldn't be easy. Lyme disease is not an easy condition to diagnose, especially 30 years ago. It may well be that your doctors did what was the standard practice for diagnosing you and treating you and that they still missed it because medicine is in many ways not an exact science. The human body is very complex and the symptoms of one disease can look like symptoms of a number of other ones, too.

You say your doctor's intentionally misdiagnosed you. What evidence do you have for that and why would they do it? What possible benefit would it be to them to do it?

Ok so defendants settle cases they are going to win? If so, why?

Two reasons. First, while they think they'll win, there is in most cases at least some chance they may lose. Juries can be unpredictable and return judgments that most others watching the same case would not have made. So the parties factor that into their settlement calculations. Second, even if they win, litigation can be very expensive. Sometimes settling for less than the cost of continuing to litigate it makes the most economic sense.

 

[zddoodah]

I also found the Torrey case. There are three case numbers listed on PACER.

5:2017cv00190

1:2018mc00525

1:2019mc00195

Torrey is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas under case no. 17-190. The other two cases listed related to proceedings to quash subpoenas served in connection with Torrey, so you won't find any relevant information there.

Millions of people have lyme disease and the attorneys sued on our behalf.

What attorneys sued on your behalf? As I explained previously, Torrey is not a class action, and the attorneys who filed that lawsuit did not sue on behalf of anyone other than the couple dozen named plaintiffs.

Ok so defendants settle cases they are going to win? If so, why?

No one knows who's "going to win" a civil lawsuit. Parties settle civil lawsuits for all kinds of reasons that have nothing to do with the merits. I don't know why any given defendant in Torrey is or isn't settling because I'm not affiliated with and don't represent any of the parties.

I lost the use of the left side of my body.....for life. How much is that worth to you?

What is it worth to me that you lost use of part of your body? What an odd question that has nothing to do with anything under discussion here.

I was told by the attorney it was a class action.

Told by what attorney? In your original post, you wrote that you "reached out to all plaintiff attorneys . . . but none are responding to [you]." Was that an untrue statement? Regardless, you can click the link that "adjusterjack" posted above and verify that Torrey is not a class action.

I then applied to be a member but never heard back.

There's no such thing as "appl[ying] to be a member" of a class. You're either a member of the class or you're not.

If you want to sue someone for something, consult with some local attorneys.