Patients and their families trust that doctors and other health professionals here in Texas will provide them with the best care possible, and that is usually true. Unfortunately, far too many patients suffer harm at the hands of a negligent health care provider. When this happens, the provider may not be the only one liable. This is the case in a recent medical malpractice lawsuit involving a misdiagnosis where a court found that a hospital that employed a negligent doctor is also at fault for harm a patient endured.
A woman being treated by a doctor for multiple sclerosis sued after it was found that she did not have the disorder. She and her husband allege that the diagnosis resulted in unneeded treatment that was costly and caused her serious personal injuries. They claim that this doctor misdiagnosed several patients with MS and that the hospital that employed him knew of this negligence.
The woman’s unneeded treatment went on for many years before the error was discovered. Her representatives claim that the hospital knew that the physician misdiagnosed numerous people for more than 10 years. As a result, the hospital was named as the plaintiff in the suit. The court sided with the woman and her husband, awarding them almost $500,000 in damages.
Receiving a misdiagnosis of a serious disorder such as multiple sclerosis can have a significant impact upon a person’s life. The treatment may be expensive and the entire ordeal can cause significant mental and physical stress for both the patient and his or her family. To find out that the patient never had a disorder due to a health provider’s negligence is upsetting to say the least. Anyone here in Texas in a similar situation may want to consider filing for medical malpractice against those parties deemed responsible. An attorney can help those who have questions about the process.