Can I ask for a refund/fee waived for a misdiagnoses at a hospital?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can I ask for a refund/fee waived for a misdiagnoses at a hospital?
I went to the hospital after an ATV accident and was told after X-rays that it was a sprain. After going to an orthopedic doctor to get X-rays and an MRI it was
confirmed that I tore my ACL, MCL and meniscus. I also had a fractured tibia. The hospital could have at least caught the fracture I paid the hospital fee of $1800 and am now being billed for the physician fee of $880. Do I have the means to ask for a refund and for them to waive the physician fee for a misdiagnosis?
Asked on October 15, 2018 under Malpractice Law, Colorado
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
You can always *ask* but there is no way to force them to grant you a refund (if they refuse to do so) unless you sue. In the lawsuit, you'd have to prove in a court of law that it was unreasonably careless, or negligent, to not catch the fracture. To do that, you'd have to hire a doctor of your own to testify in court that after examing you and looking at the X-rays, in his professional opinion, it was careless for the following reason(s). (You can't prove an expert's, like a doctor's, carelessness without expert testimony of your own.) The cost of your expert, which you have to bear yourself (you can't get if from the other side) could easily equal a large portion or percentage of the money you are hoping to get back--that's even before considering legal fees, were you to hire an attorney--and you are not guaranteed to win and so could spend the money to no purpose. (You are *never* guaranteed to win; don't believe any attorney who tell you that you are.) There may be no cost-effective way to seek this money.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.