We want to sue our child's doctor for Malpractice. He diagnosed our child with a medical condition that she didnt even have, and put her on medication for it. The medication really messed up our child, causing growth problems, bhavioral problems, etc. Then, months later, the doctor took back the diagnoses and said it was something else!!!!
Of course, we dont go to that doctor anymore, and Malpractice has been brought up. We are seeking legal advice.
However, now the doctor is 'trying to cover' his own butt. He said that we, as parents, were causing all the problems! He even accused us of having psychological problems, and called Child Protective Services on us!
I'm not sure what to do anymore! The harder we fight this, the more they make our lives miserable! We are just 2, low-class parents fighting against a doctor, and now Child Protective Services.
We don't really have any money left, because everytime the doctor or CPS has accused us of something, we have to pay someone else to prove it wrong! (Ex. psychological testing.)
We find it kind of fishy that once we seek legal advice for MalPractice, that the doctor starts all this.
Any advice?
easy_going
I suggest let it go, you have nothing to gain out of this and might be a big waste of time
divot
Perhaps the entire ritalin-pushing enterprise should be outlawed. There is a great deal of criticism of psychotropic meds. Just Google "criticism ritalin" or whatever the meds were, or "criticism psychiatry."
However if you sue you will have to show that the doctor failed in following the "reasonable standard of care" for doctors where you live. To prove your damages, you will need an expert witness to testify that "The medication really messed up our child, causing growth problems, behavioral problems, etc.", as you say.
If you have a fairly good med mal case, you may be able to find a personal injury attorney willing to do it on a contingency basis.
asymnation
Well medicine is not an exact science, and misdiagnosis in and of itself is not always grounds for legal action. Doctors are given some flexibility to make mistakes. However, if there was some sort of harm created as a consequence of the misdiagnosis, then you might have some some legal grounds to go off of.
What is your basis for stating that your child has growth problems? Do you have any evidence that this is linked to the treatment you were given? Considering that the course of treatment only lasted a few months it seems like it might be difficult to conclude that there was any growth problems as a consequence of treatment. With regard to the behavioral problems, did your child hurt herself or someone else while on the medication?
The other questions you have to ask are, how soon after you noticed these problems did you notify the doctor? What happened when you told them what was going on? Was it at that point that they changed the diagnosis or did they encourage you to continue the current treatment?
Ultimately, you may not have a very big case unless there are some definitive damages. Your best bet will be to consult with a lawyer and see if you even have a case. They will be able to tell you what your next steps are.
Orignal From: Suing a doctor for Malpractice?
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