Attorney won't take a case?

[silentdub]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Delaware


I've contacted a few attorneys none of which seem to be interested.

My wife was seeking treatment from our family doctor, she was

-Miss-Diagnosed one disease and treated for it needlessly for several years
-Not given the proper tests to confirm the real issue
-Given medication that made the problem worse
-Missed finding lumps later found to be cancer when another doctor found them on the first visit less than 20 days later

She couldn't work and lived in pain for years, can someone explain to me how ruining someone's quality of life for years be able to just get away with it?

It's ridiculous that someone in the medical profession can do whatever and nobody is accountable. Not to mention they get a get out of jail free card after 2 years.

 

[CTU]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Delaware


I've contacted a few attorneys none of which seem to be interested.

My wife was seeking treatment from our family doctor, she was

-Miss-Diagnosed one disease and treated for it needlessly for several years
-Not given the proper tests to confirm the real issue
-Given medication that made the problem worse
-Missed finding lumps later found to be cancer when another doctor found them on the first visit less than 20 days later

She couldn't work and lived in pain for years, can someone explain to me how ruining someone's quality of life for years be able to just get away with it?

It's ridiculous that someone in the medical profession can do whatever and nobody is accountable. Not to mention they get a get out of jail free card after 2 years.

It's not really that they're not held accountable. Med-mal suits are, for the most part, about money ... in other words, they're about being compensated for your financial losses. They're inherently expensive to litigate, and unfortunately it often does boil down to whether or not they'll see a hefty enough financial reward at the end of it.

I'm sorry.

 

[justalayman]

Have you asked an attorney to take the case on an hourly basis?

Attorneys that take cases on contingency take cases they believe are quite winnable but not only
That, they will have a big enough pay off such that it is worth their time to fight the case. While you may see the situation as winnable, either the attorneys don't or they don't think it would result in a large enough pay out to be worthwhile.

One of the biggest determiners of whether the case is worth fighting is; what are the patients damages. If there are no permanent injury or what happened didn't cause issues such as a probable shortened life, the case may simply not be worth fighting for.

 

[silentdub]

Have you asked an attorney to take the case on an hourly basis?

Attorneys that take cases on contingency take cases they believe are quite winnable but not only
That, they will have a big enough pay off such that it is worth their time to fight the case. While you may see the situation as winnable, either the attorneys don't or they don't think it would result in a large enough pay out to be worthwhile.

One of the biggest determiners of whether the case is worth fighting is; what are the patients damages. If there are no permanent injury or what happened didn't cause issues such as a probable shortened life, the case may simply not be worth fighting for.

Exactly. So a doctor can go on and miss treat a patient, miss a diagnosis and keep her in a condition that took away a good 10 years of her life if not more needlessly and yet, nothing happens. The doctor is a hero.

It's an American thing I think, nobody is accountable, nobody is responsible, someone elses fault.

 

[justalayman]

Exactly. So a doctor can go on and miss treat a patient, miss a diagnosis and keep her in a condition that took away a good 10 years of her life if not more needlessly and yet, nothing happens. The doctor is a hero.

It's an American thing I think, nobody is accountable, nobody is responsible, someone elses fault.

Money; it's a world wide thing.

It will easily cost tens of thousands of dollars if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to effectively fight a medical malpractice suit. If you are willing to pay the costs out of pocket you can seek justice. If you want an attorney to risk their time it is about the money; their money and they don't spend it seeking justice. They work for a paycheck just like everybody else does.

Justice costs money anywhere in the world so I don't think it's an American thing at all. The US is somewhat unique in that you can become a wealthy person (often many times over what the winning plaintiff would have earned in their entire life) so yes, that lawsuit lottery has a high ticket buy in cost.

You can file complaints with the various medical boards and licensing agencies though. It won't get you any money but it may give you some psychological benefit. The agencies do have the ability to investigate the matter and take punitive actions if they deem them appropriate. A doctor can lose their license through the process. In fact, in a law suit it is all about the money since it doesn't involve any licensing agency. It's the plaintiff seeking redress for the wrongs they face with the only measure of punishment being required to pay money, which is actually paid by an insurance company.

So, if you want accountability, file complaints with the licensing agencies involved. Anything else shows it's only about the money to you as well.

 

[Zigner]

I think that a piece of information has been given by the op which would help to explain another reason why no attorneys are willing to take the case. The statute of limitations on this type of case has long expired.

 

[justalayman]

I think that a piece of information has been given by the op which would help to explain another reason why no attorneys are willing to take the case. The statute of limitations on this type of case has long expired.

Maybe. Latent discovery can extend the sol beyond the date of the original error as the start of the running of the clock. Obviously there simply isn't enough to go on and it may very well be beyond any applicable sol.

 

[CTU]

Exactly. So a doctor can go on and miss treat a patient, miss a diagnosis and keep her in a condition that took away a good 10 years of her life if not more needlessly and yet, nothing happens. The doctor is a hero.

It's an American thing I think, nobody is accountable, nobody is responsible, someone elses fault.

Really?

Do you know anything about malpractice in other countries? Do you know how difficult it is to even get a lawsuit started elsewhere?

Hmmm?

 

[commentator]

And do not forget that with a very poor quality of life for many years, and lots of problems, she always had the option to seek a second opinion, see a specialist instead of your "family doctor" and that in our country, other medical venues were available to her. If that one doctor was misdiagnosing her, even if that doctor did not refer her elsewhere and she was sick over TEN YEARS without getting better, why on earth did you just accept that without doing research on her misdiagnosed "condition" etc.? There's responsibility for what happened in several places besides this one doctor.

 

[silentdub]

Well, not sure about the statue of limitations.

December of 2015 she was examined and told she was in good health, all the blood tests were normal, face to face exam, felt her up no problem.

Little did she know, she went above and beyond and contacted specialists and had an advance appointment made. Less than 20 days later we found on the very first visit:

-Incorrect or incomplete tests were ordered
-Some values were not checked and out of range
-Lumps in her throat were found on the initial exam, later found to be cancerous
-Miss diagnosis

While the extended care issues may be problematic these failure occurred recently and have played a role in her ongoing health.

I guess the loop hole for a doctor is (If you make a mistake, fool them for 2 years and you are free) That is the lesson I learned.



It's okay though, what I've learned from this experience can't be read in a book and I am glad we did what we did the way we wanted to because it saved her life. That doctor will be the one looking for an attorney now, she can sue me for her failure. I'll post the facts to anyone who will listen. The people will make her accountable. Laws and Justice has nothing to do with it.

 

[CTU]

Well, not sure about the statue of limitations.

December of 2015 she was examined and told she was in good health, all the blood tests were normal, face to face exam, felt her up no problem.

Little did she know, she went above and beyond and contacted specialists and had an advance appointment made. Less than 20 days later we found on the very first visit:

-Incorrect or incomplete tests were ordered
-Some values were not checked and out of range
-Lumps in her throat were found on the initial exam, later found to be cancerous
-Miss diagnosis

While the extended care issues may be problematic these failure occurred recently and have played a role in her ongoing health.

I guess the loop hole for a doctor is (If you make a mistake, fool them for 2 years and you are free) That is the lesson I learned.



It's okay though, what I've learned from this experience can't be read in a book and I am glad we did what we did the way we wanted to because it saved her life. That doctor will be the one looking for an attorney now, she can sue me for her failure. I'll post the facts to anyone who will listen. The people will make her accountable. Laws and Justice has nothing to do with it.

Good luck with that.