mis diagnosted

pennsylvania
i recently injured my self at work in a nursing home as a nurses aide the first doctor tried to send mr back to work immediatly following my injury i was in severe pain so i kept begging them to take a better look they became very aggitated and refused to listen to my complaints the diagnosed me with back spasms and sent me to work i returnedone day and flared up my injury wich i recieved a second and third opinion who concluded disc damage and nerve damage . im wondering if i have a malpractice claim?

I think your issue would be better taken up with the state Dept. of Labor & Industry than with pursuing a malpractice claim against a doctor who hasn't placed a scalpel to your skin.

Just my opinion.

[ellencee]

annefan1000
one does not need a scalpel to the skin in order to suffer from malpractice; just my professional opinion.

mandy1
You need to follow procedure for worker's compensation in your state; and, I recommend that you contact an attorney in your area that handles such claims on a regular basis. This attorney will review your medical records from each treating facility and physician. Most worker's comp attorneys are quite competent in reviewing medical records for proper diagnosis and treatment. If in the opinion of the attorney, the initial physician failed to provide proper diagnostic measures based on your presenting symptoms and physical signs of injury, the attorney will advise you on the issue of malpractice.
At your earliest convenience, contact an attorney that specializes in worker's compensation. Best wishes.

ellencee, you are absolutely correct. I posted only one example. My point, which perhaps I should have clarified, was that this seems to be a simple situation of a doctor mistaking a medical diagnosis. However, the poster did obtain a second opinion, which was the right thing to do. This just brought to my mind how many times when my children were younger, and I took them to the doctor and they were diagnosed with a 24-hr stomach virus, and when they were returned two days later with worsening symptoms, they were diagnosed with ear infections. Do I contemplate suing my doctor for that? Absolutely not.

From the posters comments, I gathered that this person returned to work and places the blame for worsening medical conditions on that fact. Then, in my opinion, this is a work related injury issue that he/she would probably be more effective in obtaining compensation for the suffering through the Dept. of Labor rather than filing suit on a medical professional.

Medical malpractice is costly to pursue and the outcome is usually not favorable if one doesn't have a strong case. Most medical malpractice/injury attorneys will give the initial consultation for free. In this case, I believe the poster has an issue with the employer first, and not the medical professional. The first concern posted regarded the issue of being "forced" to return to work.

[ellencee]

annefan1000
Interesting opinion from a different interpretation of the meaning of the post! I inferred the post to be one of 'can I sue this doctor for forcing me to go back to work when I was injured and he didn't properly diagnose me?'
I did consider the aspect of returning to the same duties as causing a worsening of the condition into a bona fide vertebral/spinal cord injury.
I just took the easy way out and said, go see an attorney!

Always, when in doubt, consult an attorney!