Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Florida
Would it be considered Medical Negligence/Malpractice if a doctor totally ignored your injury (no XRAY, MRI, Specialist referral or did not offer any medication to suppress the pain) because of your appearance and later you find out that you have big problems that he totally ignored? Mine did.
Long story short, I visited a doctor, in March 2012, with a complaint of severe shoulder pain, I said "I don't know what's going on with my shoulder, but it's excruciatingly painful. So much that I can't sleep at night". And rather than treating me, like any professional doctor would, he sat there and said to me"We don't prescribe narcotics here". and he did absolutely nothing. I believe it was all because of my appearance. I'm a 42 year old male, I have long hair and a goatee. His waiting room was full of little old ladies and I realize my looks may be offensive to some, but I'm not a criminal nor am I some scumbag off the street looking for some pain pills as he insinuated.
Several weeks later, I went to the ER because I had had enough suffering because the pain was so overwhelming. The Doctor there treated me professionally. She XRay'd my shoulder and thought that I might have a torn rotator cuff. She prescribed me pain medication and referred me to a specialist. Come to find out, after an MRI, I have a torn rotator cuff, torn tendon, 8-10 cysts in and around the rotator cuff, arthritis, bursitis, tendinitis and fluid in the joint and it looks like I will need surgery to repair the damage.
My question is; can I sue this doctor for failing to diagnose my injury? Actually, he refused to even treat me, and again, I believe because of my appearance, he assumed that I was there only to get pain medication as if I were a pain pill addict. Thanks for your time. Timothy
2 Answers from Attorneys
Short answer is probably not. Although he acted like a jerk, the delay in your diagnosis and treatment didn't cause you any additional injuries. Unless the malpractice causes your injury, there won't be a case.
Like I tell people, if you could sue doctors for being arrogant jerks, my parking lot would have to be as big as Wal-Mart's.
Agree with prior answer. You already had the torn rotator cuff; the delay probably did not cause any additional damage . We can't sue doctors for being unprofessional only.
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