A female patient has initiated legal claims against multiple doctors after they allegedly committed medical malpractice. The woman’s lawsuit alleges that a misdiagnosis caused her virus to go undetected, resulting in the inflammation of her brain. The woman was suffering from a rare brain disease called herpes simplex encephalitis, but doctors allegedly did not timely diagnose her and she did not receive appropriate treatment as a result. Even though this case was filed out of state, unfortunately, cases like this do occur in Pennsylvania as well.
The lawsuit says that the defending doctors did not adhere to acceptable standards of care while treating their patient. It further alleges that doctors mismanaged the plaintiff’s medical care. They have also been accused of delayed diagnosis of the woman’s condition, which resulted in more serious injuries.
As for damages, the woman has asked for an unspecified amount of compensation for issues such as mental anguish, pain and suffering and emotional distress. She has also asked for restitution regarding disability, medical expenses, miscellaneous expenses and lost wages. Also, as is common when similar claims are brought forward in Pennsylvania, the woman is requesting damages stemming from her lost enjoyment of life and diminished employability.
Any time a Pennsylvania doctor fails to perform his or her job correctly in a misdiagnosis case, the accidents and injuries can be extremely severe. Indeed, numerous victims have had their lives turned upside-down because of doctors’ mistakes. Injured victims and the immediate family members of people who are killed in doctor error cases, may want to look at the facts relating to their cases in order to determine the strengths and weaknesses of filing personal injury or wrongful death claims. When successfully pursued, a doctor error claim could be the only strategy for victims to obtain justice and restitution relating to such events.
Source: Louisiana Record, "Doctors accused of medical malpractice in case of misdiagnosis of brain inflammation virus", Kyle Barnett, May 28, 2014