Home > Research Legal Advice > Medical Malpractice > The doctor misdiagnosis my children, what should i do ?
Asked 11 months ago - Brooklyn, NY
FlagTwo of my child(15year old and 5 year old ) had fever for 3 days, i took them to the clinic and paid $160 for visit,Since they don't receive my insurance. The doctor said the lungs are clear, and the fever is caused by the throat. He prescribed some medications. Those medications are expensive, I did not buy them. Few hours later, I took them to the ER, and the doctor at ER diagnostics that my children have aspiration pneumonia. I don't know what to do right now. But I would like to at least get my money back.
As the other attorneys responding have indicated, it would cost you more to prosecute a case to get your $160 back, as it costs thousands to retain a medical expert just to give an opinion as to whether the first doctor committed malpractice by making a misdiagnosis. In any event, and assuming for discussion that he did, your case would probably be dismissed. A successful claim requires not only proving that the doctor committed malpractice, but also that the patient was injured due to that act of malpractice. You took your children to the hospital within 3 hours after seeing the first doctor, so that it is highly unlikely that they were injured, or made worse, due to his diagnosis; nor do you indicate as such.
Unfortunately, you may have difficulty finding a lawyer. First, in order to be successful in these cases you have to demonstrate a breach of the standard of care. That requires expert testimony. So assuming you can do that (which is not certain) you get to the second issue… $$$ It costs a lot of money to prosecute these cases and it is not likely that the injury you described is likely to be worth enough to justify bringing the case. It is a problem for plaintiffs all over this country. They are unable to bring viable claims because it is cost prohibitive. It certainly does not help that many states require extra hurdles before a claim even be brought.
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