Medical Misdiagnosis - Negligence ?

blue_monkey_2

OP. This is going to sound harsh but needs saying anyway.

Your friend has only had the life he has had, resulted in numerous suicide attempts, because his family have not made the most of the life he was given and supported him as such.

There are thousands of children and adults with CF - medical breakthroughs now mean that life expectancy is longer now, however, 18 years ago life expectancy was early 20's, now it's 35. I'd lay the fault at your friends family door for not dealing with this correctly as he would not have had a life expectancy of 18 years all through his life, they should have been noting the breakthroughs and been glad that his life was being extended as the years go by. They have obviously not done this but have continually reminded him that he will not live beyond 18.

To blame this on the medical profession is, I guess, the easy way out. I think ALL of his family need counselling to deal with this and the conditions their child has been born with, and the fact they gave birth to a child that was going to die at an early age. They are the ones that could have made his life so much better. It is the OP's friends family have failed him - and it is this that needs addressing, not suing doctors because they got it wrong.

I noted this comment

I know we should all be celebrating the fact he does not have CF but it has basically robbed him of a childhood and he is finding it difficult to adjust to the news

No it hasn't - it is his family that have robbed him of his childhood if they were constantly reminding him that he is going to die, this is not the doctors fault if they could not deal with it very well. Maybe he wants to sue them as well if it will make him feel better?

1jim

Im with Bluemonkey above....its harsh but fair imho
I think the problem is everyone wants medicine (by that I mean the art/science of medical profession) to be an exact science....the problem with that is that it isnt...... the process is generally thus...patient presents with a set of symptoms....the Dr/team etc forumulate medical impressions/diagnois based on the information available at the time, they can run tests (where available) to confirm or exclude some impressions but these often do not usually "confirm" a diagnosis just shift the balance of probability of the impression being correct/incorrect. The diagnosis/impression/prognosis for any illness will shift over time, remember medicine is learning all the time, new tests are available all the time, new treatments are available all the time. What we know now far outweighs what we knew 20 years ago.

Feel free to consult a medical negligence team but be prepared for them to take a cold look at the case. would another dr given the same information 20 years ago have made the same diagnosis? if others would have made the same diagnosis based on knowledge that was available 20years ago then no negligence exists.
As for suicide attempts----cant really see these being a runner to be honest, the drs gave friend a diagnosis and prognosis and presumably treatment when needed, Im not sure how you could "prove" this led to suicide attempts and how these feelings would not have been there if the diagnosis had not been made.

Out of interest what was the "mild condition" that your friend has been diagnosed with..... Im not sure what mild condition would last 17+years, have been present since birth, and has seen him hospitalised several times (as you say he has been hospitalised several times with cf...presumably it was the "mild" problem that has had him hospitalised).

Errata

Can anyone recommend a company who are trustworthy and effective in dealing with such claims

A suggestion, not a recommendation: Irwin Mitchell

blue_monkey_2

1jim wrote: »

Out of interest what was the "mild condition" that your friend has been diagnosed with..... Im not sure what mild condition would last 17+years, have been present since birth, and has seen him hospitalised several times (as you say he has been hospitalised several times with cf...presumably it was the "mild" problem that has had him hospitalised).

I am not saying it is, but it could be asthma. Untreated it would certainly lead to being hospitalised. If they treated the lungs for infection then it would most certainly clear up the infection and make the condition better but without day to day preventative Asthma treatment then infections would re-occur.

The thing is, medicine advances and learning about conditions advances. Babies were very rarely diagnosed with Asthma 18 years ago - especially from birth - so coupled with CP it was probably thought it was CF, if the mild CF was only obvious in the lungs, then yes, it could well of been asthma as they would have the same symptoms and treatments. The only reason they found out it wasn't that is through more detailed tests - tests that were not available that many years ago and if the OP's friend was that bad he would have been having tests and medication more often and this is why it was not picked up.

As I say, I think the problem with more with the parents who then thought 'our child is going to die when they are 18' and probably said to him/her 'it's not worth finishing school, going to college, making close friends, going to uni, learning to drive, etc..' instead of 'let's make the most of every day we have, do the best you can and count every extra day as a blessing' instead of counting days until the funeral.

Very sad for all involved really, I think suggesting counselling would be more appropriate OP, not trying to get compensation. By all means try, but that will only give them something else to focus on rather than what they all really need.

KxMx

I would just like to point out that this rosy view of medical mistakes always turning out for the best is not true!! Sheesh.

sunnyone

blue_monkey wrote: »

sunny, you should know better than that after all this time, check the OP's old posts first. I think an apology might be needed.

Sue, there are certain posters that will post things on boards that starts as one thing and turn to horrible nasty comments, they get banned and reopen new accounts and so it starts all over again. They tend to post mainly on the benefits boards and the disability boards. Don't let this put you off posting here - sunny was mistaken, this is a great place just that some people turn it into an undesirable one and sunny has thought you are one of those.

I did check and it all fits with andy's story, you may not know it very well but I and many other do so it you who owe me an apology, I am not mistaked and andy even told us about this particular AE :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

CouponWoman

kay159 wrote: »

I'm not really sure this fits into this board but posting here hoping someone can give me some advice
A friend of mine is nearly 18. He was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and Cystic Fibrosis in the first few months of life
Since then he has undergone treatment for both
The CP is relatively mild
The CF has also been mild but has seen him hospitalised at various stages of his life
He was initially told that his life expectancy was 18-25 years of age and although there have been medical advancements as he has got closer to 18 he has become more and more depressed culminating in several suicide attempts, firstly through medication and finally by him attempting to drown himself
It was after the final attempt that he underwent a full examination as the doctors suspected submergance in cold water would have a negative affect on his chest. When it transpired he did not get athe expected infection he was sent to our local specialist unit for a full medical
After a full day of tests it was confirmed that he did not, in fact, have Cystic Fibrosis - rather it was another mild condition which is not life threatening
He has been advised to talk to someone about whether he has a claim for not only the misdiagnosis but the years of suffering he has gone through thinking he would not life to an adult life - this in turn has affected him emotionally and has aused major depression within the whole family unit
We really dont know where to go to seek advice as I know there are so many companies out there who promise things and then charge hidden fees etc
Can anyone recommend a company who are trustworthy and effective in dealing with such claims
I know we should all be celebrating the fact he does not have CF but it has basically robbed him of a childhood and he is finding it difficult to adjust to the news
Many thanks in advance

My brother had a medical negligence claim which he won and he used Pannone's solicitors, he said they were very efficient.