Suing a negligent doctor or surgeon after they allowed you to be harmed can do more than make sure you get financial compensation for your injuries. It can also draw attention to your story and help other victims come forward. Ultimately, if your medical malpractice experience is part of a pattern of incompetence or fraud, filing a lawsuit can force the doctor to give up medicine.
Misdiagnosis a ‘gravy train’ for neurologist
In a case getting headlines here in New York and nationwide, a doctor accused of misdiagnosing hundreds of children with epilepsy, autism, attention deficit disorder and other conditions has agreed to surrender his medical license in Michigan. An attorney representing some of his patients says the doctor used his position as a pediatric neurologist to charge health insurance for expensive EEG tests – some of which he never actually performed. Of the EEGs he actually had done, many times the doctor did not bother to review the results adequately.
Negligent misdiagnosis forces patients to undergo often-painful treatments that are unnecessary. Meanwhile, the patient’s real condition goes untreated and could grow worse. The patients’ lawyer says the doctor considered his practice to be a “gravy train” instead of a way to help sick children get better.
Two former patients have already successfully sued the doctor for medical negligence. Now he has settled a complaint against him before the state medical board by agreeing to give up his medical license and paying a $5,000 fine.
Find out what you need to know about the law
Whether a doctor misdiagnosed you as part of a fraud scheme, or because they just did not give you the level of care you deserve, legal action can help you move forward. Talk to a personal injury attorney about what medical malpractice litigation looks like.
