Will this cranky old lady sue the doctor whose dangerously erroneous statement created this painful situation? Several friends have asked me this.
Rest easy, doctor! You had the great good luck to demolish the active life of a retired lawyer!
During the many hours I spent in pain, flat on my back, because of your unbelievably erroneous statement that was supposed pass for medical advice, I thought about this.
The irony here, Dr. Deluge, is that YOU threatened to sue ME if I told anyone about this debacle!
My conclusions:
1. In general, cases like this (he said/she said) are hard to prove, and here, preponderance of evidence is required. There were no other witnesses to this doctors dangerously stupid statement and no writings; only my notes and recollection of what I was told: that my eye condition was "because I was on Prolia."
2. Legal action could create all sorts of problems with my medical care in the future.
3. Because I worked hard in physical therapy to at least regain some ability to walk (albeit with pain) and to manage some of my activities of daily living, damages award would likely be reduced accordingly.
4. No amount of money could compensate me for what I have suffered and what I have lost because of the stupid, thoughtless and dangerous statements made by the doctor in question. My ability to drive a car, visit friends and family, travel as I had so looked forward to in retirement -- these might all be worth something in damages, but money would never give me back what I have lost!
5. It would be highly unlikely to change the future behavior of this likely well-insured and egotistical doctor in any event. He probably has great insurance to cover this and would just go on with his life as usual.
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