As many Louisiana parents know, childhood can be fraught with challenging times, sometimes including injury and illness. Of course, in most cases, the parents of ill children welcome professional advice and will do whatever they need to do to reduce or eliminate the discomfort or pain their child is feeling. However, sometimes, a physician diagnoses a problem and prescribes treatment for reasons other than healing. Such appears to be the case in an incident involving a 26-year-old woman who is about to go on trial against a doctor and the medical center that employed him, claiming she has suffered from medical malpractice and negligence.
The woman was diagnosed with epilepsy as a 9-year-old child, after visiting a doctor about her chronic headaches. He had prescribed anti-seizure medication, which she took for the next four years. The medicine made her feel sluggish, and she also endured teasing from other kids at school, as she was told to limit her physical activity, and she said her grades also suffered. As well, she occasionally had to undergo an electroencephalogram (EEG), a test used to measure brain activity. When her doctor left the country for a different job, another doctor delivered a different diagnosis: she did not have epilepsy.
Many other patients with the same doctor received similar news upon visiting a new doctor. The now 26-year-old woman will be the first of what could be many patients suing the doctor and his employer, accusing them of medical malpractice and negligence. According to the prosecution, the medical center was only focused on making money and therefore allowed and was happy about the doctor’s suspiciously high productivity. In addition, documents indicate that he qualified for a significant bonus if certain billing targets were met.
In most cases, parents assume a medical professional has each patient’s best interests in mind when delivering a diagnosis and prescribing treatment. Unfortunately, it seems that is not always the case, and sometimes, money may be a motivating factor. People who believe they have been a victim of a medical professional’s negligence may wish to consult with an experienced Louisiana medical malpractice attorney to discuss legal options.
