Can I sue my doctor for malpractice?
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Can I sue my doctor for malpractice?
About 5 years ago I kept going back and forth to my primary physician with complaints about my hip and back. Every time he did ex-rays and told me nothing was wrong or gave me a shot in my hip and still told me there was nothing wrong with me. Finally, a couple years later I blew a disc in my lower back. I then went back, and he very rudely told me ‘I already told you there is nothing wrong with you, I will give you your co-pay and you can leave.’ I then screamed at him and demanded an MRI which revealed a serious problem in need of surgery. Can I sue him for malpractice? If caught earlier surgery could have been avoided.
Asked on March 11, 2019 under Malpractice Law, Alabama
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
You may be able to sue him for malpractice. You would have to be able to show with medical expert testimony (e.g. the testimony of the appropriate type of doctor) that your primary physician was negligent or careless to not either make the correct diagnosis, or to run additional tests (MRI), or to refer you to a specialist, given that you kept coming back with the same complaint. That is, you have to show not just that he was wrong (the law accepts that medicine is not perfect, and doctors do sometimes get things wrong) but that what he did was unreasonable or careless or did not meet then-current standards for medical care. If you can show that, you should have a viable malpractice case.
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