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Subject:
Should my friend sue her doctor for medical malpractice?
Category: Health > Medicine Asked by: ddsquared-ga List Price: $5.00 |
Posted:
05 Jan 2006 21:06 PST
Expires: 04 Feb 2006 21:06 PST Question ID: 429798 |
I have a friend who was sexually abused by a relative as a child. In her mid-twenties she went into therapy, and saw a psychiatrists on a more-or-less weekly basis for a six year period. After not being in therapy for a few years, she recently began seeing a different therapist. When the second therapist contacted the psychiatrists to discuss my friend's condition, she found out the psychiatrists never took any notes and had no written documentation whatsoever regarding my friend's condition or therapy! My question is this: is this an example of medical malpractice? I do not think her therapy was covered by insurance, but paid for everything out of her own pocket. Does she have an adequate case for a lawsuit? She is now disabled (due to an unrelated physical injury) and could not afford to hire a lawyer; is this an example of a case that a lawyer would take on a contigency basis? |
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There is no answer at this time. |
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Subject:
Re: Should my friend sue her doctor for medical malpractice?
From: docjimmy-ga on 06 Jan 2006 03:29 PST |
This is very difficult. I am not an expert and my comments should not be taken as gospel... You must be very sure about the 'therapists' 'psychologists' and 'psychiatrists'. Psychiatrists are doctors with a medical degree and, as such, are protected by - and held accountable to - all the various medico-legal rules. I find it hard to beleive that a 'psychiatrist' would not have taken any notes. 'Therapists' and 'psychologists', however, are not bound by the same rules. Also, if you are intending to sue - you need something to sue about. Simply not having a record is probably not good enough unless you can prove that not having a record has directly had a negative effect on your friend's mental health. James |
Subject:
Re: Should my friend sue her doctor for medical malpractice?
From: ddsquared-ga on 06 Jan 2006 07:06 PST |
I am 100% positive that the original person was a psychiatrists; he is a MD (medical doctor) and prescribed many different types of mood-altering medications for her over the years. The second therapist is NOT a doctor, but a social worker w/ some advanced degrees. She has diagnosed my friend w/ D.I.D. As far as sueing the original psychiatrists: I am not the stereo-typical lawsuit-seeking American looking to find some free money (and regardless I wouldn't personally profit from this lawsuit). However, it seems unconscionable to me that any professional (be it psychiatrists, psychologists, or therapist) would not keep records for a patient's treatment over a six year period! Has this lack of record keeping had a negative effect on her mental health? I can't say, but I would suspect that the second therapist would have gained some insights into their patient had they been able to review that patient's medical history. Additionally (and I understand that this is something she can't sue for), IMHO the skills and competence of any doctor who operates their practice in the above manner is automatically suspect. |
Subject:
Re: Should my friend sue her doctor for medical malpractice?
From: jshaw-ga on 06 Jan 2006 08:19 PST |
I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding of malpractice is that it typically requires proving either gross negligence (leaving surgical instruments in a patient, amputating the wrong foot, etc) or a providing treatment which deviates significantly from the 'standard of care' for a given disease. While I agree that all doctors should keep some minimum of medical records and notes on visits, I'm not sure that having poor or abscent notes constitutes either gross negligence or deviating from the standard of care. And, as the previous post mentioned, you'd obviously need to show that there was some adverse outcome due to the inadequate records. |
Subject:
Re: Should my friend sue her doctor for medical malpractice?
From: markvmd-ga on 06 Jan 2006 10:00 PST |
There is a difference between not keeping records and not having records. I would expect state law to require the maintaining of records for a certain period of time after the last contact-- in my business it is three years-- and allowing for the confidential destruction of them after that period. Are you quite certain that this is not the case here? We are getting the report that thre are no records filtered through several people (original psychiatrist to current psychotherapist to patient to you to us), which is a rather extended game of telephone. Keep in mind that the records are the property of the psychiatrist. A patient may have a right to the information in them but not the actual records, except in certain rare cases. Failure to properly maintain records is something you would complain to the state licensing board about. Anyone considering a lawsuit should consult an attorney. Many will provide a free initial consultation. |
Subject:
Re: Should my friend sue her doctor for medical malpractice?
From: myoarin-ga on 06 Jan 2006 14:30 PST |
Mark seems to have a couple of good points. I am wondering if the psychiatrist is obligated to pass on his notes, either at all (as the later therapist seems to expect); or to someone who is not an MD; or without specific instructions by the patient. Being a suspicious cynic, I can imagine a scenario in which the psychiatrist took umbrage at the fact that his erstwhile patient went to "junior" practitoner and gave him or her the brush-off. As to records maintenance, from a couple of other questions here, I got the impression that MDs' records eventually get archived in a state medical depository (closed practices, etc.), but I may be wrong. |
Subject:
Re: Should my friend sue her doctor for medical malpractice?
From: docjimmy-ga on 08 Jan 2006 03:18 PST |
I'm not sure how the system works in America. In the UK, however... 1. The patient notes are the property of the hospital or clinic in which they are kept - and not the property of the treating doctor. The treating doctor, however, has a legal obligation NOT to share the notes with any third party where he thinks it would be inappropriate and has control over who the notes are shown to. 2. The patient has a right to see their own notes and can apply to the hospital directly. They're not allowed to remove them from the premises but can make photocopies. 3. Doctors are not legal obliged to keep notes per se but they would be wise to do so to record exactly what went on for possible future legal action. 4. A lack of notes, therefore, is not a legal issue but rather a 'professional' one and could be taken up with the GMC (General Medical Council). Has your friend asked to see her notes herself - or has the therapist asked to see them? It may be, as others have said above, that the MD felt sharing the notes with a non-medically qualified 'therapist' was inappropriate and fobbed her off. However, if your friend asks to see them, he is probably legally obliged to share them (he would be in the UK). James |
Subject:
Re: Should my friend sue her doctor for medical malpractice?
From: reedflorida-ga on 18 Feb 2006 04:53 PST |
What was the psychiatrist's reason for not having the notes? How many years passed when the second therapist requested them? Did your friend have any written agreement with the psychiatrist about the notes from her treatment? Did she ever obtain copies of her records after her treatment ended? Do psychiatrists have a professional duty to maintain notes from treatment years after a patient ends her treatment? All details about the treatment and the missing notes are critical for a potential malpractice case. If failing to maintain notes from psychiatric therapy is found by a court to be malpractice, the only thing the court could do is award your friend for the damages caused by the lack of psychiatric treatment notes. Generally, the court cannot order the psychiatrist, hospital or other responsible parties to do anything but pay her a sum of money, and provide copies of records and other things belonging to her. If she wins, the court would try to "make her whole", generally, by awarding the monetary losses that can be attributed to the psychiatrist's alleged breach of professional dutes. How was your friend damaged by the psychiatrist's failure to take or maintain notes on her therapy? What has it cost her in expenses, limitations, hardships, and such? How badly does she need records that the psychiatrist, clinic or hospital possesses but refuses to release? If there are significant monetary damages caused by a breach of professional duty, an attorney would probably represent your friend for a percentage of her recovery. She should talk to a lawyer and should not rely solely on someone's online comments for legal advice. |
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