Please ignore

[Tink42]

I would say that since you are only interested in making sure this doesn't happen to someone else and not monetary compensation, I would not go the lawsuit route but instead report the incident to the medical board in your state. I would think this would be resolved much faster that way.

 

[rdrjj5]

Originally posted by Tink42
I would say that since you are only interested in making sure this doesn't happen to someone else and not monetary compensation, I would not go the lawsuit route but instead report the incident to the medical board in your state. I would think this would be resolved much faster that way.

I agree. A lawsuit just affects the insurance she has, not her professional standing with a medical board.

On another topic, you said this happend before christmas? It seems like a long time to me to still be having the hives. I would get to you new doctor ASAP and discuss it with him/her.

Hope you feel better soon.

 

[Bojangles]

Since you stopped taking the meds over a month ago, then could it be something else making you sick?

 

[CEDmom]

If what you want to do is make sure this incident goes on the doctor's record and she is possibly reprimanded for it than you should speak with the medical review board in your state. Going to a lawyer is only going to result in a lawsuit. Based on what you've said here it probably doesn't have much monetary value and would just be settled by the insurance company and will have little or no impact on the doctor.

 

[chell]

Sometimes when you have allergies and my other problems your body does not get rid of the "junk" as quickly as it should. Also, this may have set off something else in my body. My doctors know that they have to be careful with me because of certain problems that I have.

My new doctor cannot see me until the end of March. But I am able to get into an allergist Tuesday morning.

The only reason I even considered suing the doctor is because so many people have told me that I should.

I am filing a formal complaint against her with the medical board as well.

 

[Bojangles]

Wow...I live very close to Black Mountain. I guess I will avoid going to the doctor there.

 

[arminnie]

Originally posted by Tink42
I would say that since you are only interested in making sure this doesn't happen to someone else and not monetary compensation, I would not go the lawsuit route but instead report the incident to the medical board in your state. I would think this would be resolved much faster that way.

I agree and that's the advice you would probably get from a reputable lawyer also. I had an incident in the hospital where a doctor cut my carotid artery and in the operating room and sent me back to my room bleeding and then he left the hospital and wouldn't come back - kept telling the nurses to just hold it until it stopped. This went on for hours with nurses holding it to keep me from bleeding to death until he finally quit answering his pages and they called in another doctor who sewed it up and said that it NEVER would have stopped with out the stitches.

This was Easter Sunday three years ago. My poor 80 year old father had to stand there and watch this for hours. I contacted a very good lawyer (referred to me by a relative who is a judge). He agreed with me that I had been VERY mistreated but also said that I had no case since I did not die (almost didn't count) and had no permanent damages. He said that the complaint to the medical examiner was the way to go and was much more effective. The doctor in my case is no longer practicing medicine in this state. I hope I had something to do with it.

FYI - you really don't have to pay the bill. I didn't. They hounded me for a year or two, but I refused to pay and absolutely nothing came of it. The bill was thousands of dollars over what my insurance company paid so we weren't talking a $15 co-pay.

One time when I told the person calling me why I wasn't paying she said "Well I don't know anything about that" to which I replied "Then don't call me if you don't know what you are talking about." If they report it to a credit bureau you have the right to add a statement as to why it was not paid. I still have perfect credit.

 

[ByTheSea]

Just my opinion of course, but I would write it off as lesson learned. Your Doctor is human and it sounds like maybe you need to find a new Doctor as you have lost trust in this one.

My father went to see his Dr. several times over the course of 4 weeks with undiagnosed pain. Severe pain - he missed work and he never missed work. Week 4 the Dr. wanted to send him to a psychiatrist as he thought it was all "in his head" (he was depressed) but instead my Mother brought him to the E.R. - he had a C.T. scan and had an aortic aneurysm that was "leaking" - good thing it was leaking because it should have killed him weeks before. He had immediate surgury, difficult recovery, several life long post surgical complications. Wouldn't ever think of suing, the way he figured it, how could the Dr. know what it was, when it was the type of thing that should have killed him in hours not cause him pain for weeks.

Several years past, and he passed out at home - turned grey, Parametics couldn't find a pulse. Turns out, with the medicines he was prescribed he was missing two important supplements - Potasium and Magnesium. He went a few years depleting his body of needed minerals, a KNOWN side effect of the drugs he was prescribed due to surgical complications. The Doctor "should have known" - the Pharamist "should have known" who knew? He survived again after several weeks in ICU (for which he had to pay several thousands of dollars out of pocket, again) - but mistakes happen, again, he would hear of suing.

There was a third incident but this is getting too long.

And the reason my father would never consider suing, even after 3 near death experiences two of which were completely preventable and one which the misdiagnosis caused him 4 weeks of incredible paid, after some 10-12 weeks in ICU (when you add all 3 incidents together) after lifelong painful complications, was that he felt that as humans, people make mistakes, and he was an incredibly forgiving man. He figured it didn't kill him, and frankly, he had strong opinions about frivilous lawsuits driving up the prices of Health Care for everyone else, that he felt was a bigger wrong.

The first time Dad was in the hospital for an extended period of time, he was in a shared room in the Cardiac care unit - the man in the next bed was an uninsured farmer, and he and his wife had several tearful meetings with realtors because they had to see if they sold their farm property they could come up with enough money for him to have the bipass operation he needed. It was heartbreaking and something my Dad could never get past.

 

[Blondie]

Originally posted by Tink42
I would say that since you are only interested in making sure this doesn't happen to someone else and not monetary compensation, I would not go the lawsuit route but instead report the incident to the medical board in your state. I would think this would be resolved much faster that way.

I'm sorry you had an allergic reaction, but I agree with Tink42. Report her to the AMA, and write a letter of complaint to your town's newspaper.

I don't know how strong of a case you'll have since you know of your allergy but took the meds anyway. It would be different if you were unconscious and were given meds without your consent.

Hope you feel better soon.

 

[chell]

Originally posted by Blondie
I'm sorry you had an allergic reaction, but I agree with Tink42. Report her to the AMA, and write a letter of complaint to your town's newspaper.

I don't know how strong of a case you'll have since you know of your allergy but took the meds anyway. It would be different if you were unconscious and were given meds without your consent.

Hope you feel better soon.

Like I said earlier, I was out of it from the fever so I didn't realize what I had. If I had realized it I would have NEVER taken it. I am very careful about the meds I take and what I eat.

I am reporting her to the boards also.

 

[gymnasticsmom68]

I'm curious, did you have anybody with you at the Drs. office with you that could corroborate your story for the board? That would certainly help your case.

 

[DocRafiki]

Originally posted by chellnjr
kpgclark - Would you not be upset if your doctor gave you something they KNEW you could not have? Especially if you suffered from it for more than a month?

You didn't say in your original post that the allergy was in your records. Based on just the info in your original post, you had absolutely no case.

IF they did have that info in their records, IMO you and your ins co shouldn't have to pay. BUT I don't know the workings of your clinic. For all you know, they might be required to take a payment until someone in their business office reviews it and then sends out refund checks.

You should have dropped the attitude over the co-pay. Is $10-20 dollars really worth making angry the people who have control over (a) how long you'll have to wait to get treated, (b) what treatment you'll receive, and (c) possibly whether or not you'll have to pay?

 

[chell]

Originally posted by DocRafiki
You didn't say in your original post that the allergy was in your records. Based on just the info in your original post, you had absolutely no case.

IF they did have that info in their records, IMO you and your ins co shouldn't have to pay. BUT I don't know the workings of your clinic. For all you know, they might be required to take a payment until someone in their business office reviews it and then sends out refund checks.

You should have dropped the attitude over the co-pay. Is $10-20 dollars really worth making angry the people who have control over (a) how long you'll have to wait to get treated, (b) what treatment you'll receive, and (c) possibly whether or not you'll have to pay?

I didn't know that I had to tell everyone here every single detail. All I wanted was advice from people who had been there.

If you were having trouble breathing, hands and feet swelling and covered in hives I bet you would have an attitude too.

 

[CheshireVal]

This is the kind of stuff that makes me laugh. You don't know what type of pain and suffering I've been through. I didn't tell every single detail here and I don't feel the need to.

All I wanted was some advice as to what steps I need to take because I know there are so many people here on the DIS that always offer such wonderful advice.

Sorry if I upset you. But, like you said, you posted your problem here so that you could get advice. You should expect that people aren't always going to tell you exactly what you want to hear.

It just didn't sound to me like you were going to be able to provide enough proof of anything to get any monetary damages in a lawsuit, and if you aren't interested in money anyway then a lawsuit is probably not your best course of action.

 

[DocRafiki]

Originally posted by chellnjr
If you were having trouble breathing, hands and feet swelling and covered in hives I bet you would have an attitude too.

HA! Not with the only people around with the power to help me! That would just be stupid.

 

[C.Ann]

I have also been given medications I was allergic to - was misdiagnosed with asthma for 2 years (which actually turned out to be a bone tumor) - had a pharmacist give me someone elses medication (which would have killed me if I hadn't noticed the difference myself) - and had my uterus ruptured by a gynecologist..

None of the above were considered actionable by an attorney because (a) allergic reactions don't cause permanent damage (no matter how much pain & suffering is involved) - (b) the bone tumor was benign (so again, there was no permanent damage) - (c) I didn't take the wrong medication that was given to me and therefore suffered no damage - and (d) at my age my uterus was no longer considered "useful" - so again, no permanent damage..

Did I actually consider filing lawsuits for the above? No - but just out of curiousity, I called a number of attorneys - just so I could get a handle on who does and doesn't jump on cases just to make a buck.. There doesn't seem to be as many as people might think - at least not in this area.. They either flat out said they weren't actionable - laughed out loud - or just didn't bother returning my phone calls..

If you DO find someone willing to take the case - and he or she says she'll win it for you - I'd RUN in the other direction.. Bottom line is you suffered no permanent damage..

I'd file with the medical board, not pay the bills, and leave it at that..

 

[chell]

Originally posted by C.Ann
Bottom line is you suffered no permanent damage..

You don't know that. I said earlier that it may have set off something else. The medicine she gave me is one known to also make another problem worse and I don't feel the need to discuss it any more.

 

[chell]

I don't have a problem hearing from people who don't say what I want to hear. I just don't like being judged when you don't know everything - and I don't have to tell everything here.

PLEASE just let this thread die.

 

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by chellnjr
You don't know that. I said earlier that it may have set off something else. The medicine she gave me is one known to also make another problem worse and I don't feel the need to discuss it any more.

-----------------------------------------------

I'm sorry if you were offended by my response.. Maybe I should have clarified a bit better.. When I said that you "suffered no permanent damage" I was referring to anything that would be permanently incapacitating and extremely VISIBLE.. That's the ONLY thing that the attorneys care about.. If you don't have huge scarring somewhere - if they don't have to bring you into the courtroom in a wheelchair - if you don't have a limb missing - or they can't say that you've been unemployed for the past 6 months due to some horrendous totally incapacitating injury - they simply aren't going to be interested..

It may not be fair, but it's true..

 

[lynetteSC]

UGH! Not good at all! I hope you are feeling better and good luck with whatever action you decide. I am allergic to sulfa-based drugs. I would be really upset if something like that happened ... But, I really don't understand why she wasn't the least bit apologetic or tried to help you with the adverse reaction?!?!?

I hope you feel better soon!