Cancer Patient Misdiagnosed with Asthma

When it comes to health, consumers generally trust that doctors diagnose and treat them accurately.  When a doctor tells you that you've got asthma, something simple, you tend to believe it.  Why would you suspect it to be more?

One woman in Brooklyn had a persistent cough.  Her doctor treated her for over a year for asthma.  However, it was later discovered that she really had lung cancer.  This Brooklyn woman was devastated to learn that her doctor misdiagnosed her with a common ailment instead of a life threatening disease.  

It doesn't seem very fair, but this same woman is the primary caregiver to a child with special needs.  She may not live long enough to see her daughter grow up.  And this is due in part to the negligence of the doctor.  Because of this negligence, a NY court awarded her $625,000 in compensation although her attorneys believe she would have received more had she filed in a court out of state. 

How Doctors' Errors Could Endanger Your Health

Consumers have a reasonable belief that the doctor treating them can competently take their symptoms and diagnose them with an ailment.  They also reasonably believe that a doctor knows how to care for their conditions.  When it comes to light that a doctor may have misdiagnosed a patient, the community is shocked and confidence in that doctor, that hospital, and the medical profession, wanes. 

Yearly, there are thousands of incidents which are generally attributed to doctor negligence. This includes misdiagnosis, surgical errors, treatment errors, and more.  These incidents could severely endanger a patient's health and cause injury, including:

• allergic reactions
• interior organ damage
• tissue damage
• paralysis
• amputation
• death

Depending upon the error, a patient could be at serious risk for a life altering event, including death.  In this case, it's extremely likely that the amount awarded was extremely low considering her limited time left because of the failure to adequately treat her cancer.  If you have similarly experienced negative consequences as the result of a surgeon's error or misdiagnosis, you should call a skilled personal injury attorney for help. 

FDA Warns Doctors of Counterfeit Drugs that May Injure Consumers

Plastic surgery used to be a luxury good that only the wealthy and famous could afford.  But now it is quite affordable and widely available from a variety of different sources.  While the increase of manufacturers and distributors passes along a cost benefit to consumers, sometimes there is a significant risk of injury that passes along with it.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been busy warning doctors across the United States that they could have received fake or ineffective Botox from a Canadian supplier, Canada Drugs. In their letter to Canada Drugs here, the FDA has identified Botox, Levitra, Accutane, and Viagra which could be fake or ineffective.  In response, the FDA seized $10.5 million of fake drugs and ordered the distributor to shut down over 4,000 pharmaceutical websites online that are being marketed to American buyers.  The FDA is operating under a fear that consumers may experience significant injury as a result of their exposure to fake or counterfeit drugs.

The Risk to Consumers

The FDA identified many American doctors who might have received these potentially counterfeit drugs.  Among them are prominent Beverly Hills doctors as well as other practitioners across America.  These doctors are strongly advised to discontinue use of these drugs in order to prevent consumer injury.  And consumers fearing their doctors may be using counterfeit products are encouraged to contact the FDA's Department of Criminal Investigations.

Consumers using counterfeit drugs could be at risk for injury in a number of ways. This could include:

• ineffective
• toxic ingredients
• incorrect dosage amounts
• incorrect ingredients
• allergic reactions
• unexpected side effects
• deadly side effects

Consumers are at significant risk for injury if they are prescribed counterfeit drugs.  The same is true with instances for fake plastic surgery treatments like Botox.  Consumers could experience a myriad of complications and injuries as a result of fake Botox. 

If You Have Been Injured

If you have been injured by your doctor's negligence or carelessness, you may be entitled to compensation for these injuries.  These alleged counterfeit drugs could injure you and damage your health in a number of ways, including death.  To determine whether or not you have a case, please call a skilled personal injury and product liability attorney.