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Hoping someone has experience with this type of situation--
A friend of mine (I don't know her that well, she's more like a friend of a friend) believes that she has been totally f'd over by her doctors. She has asked me to edit her written medical board complaint. It is about 50 pages long and extremely rambling and convoluted. She has been on Zyprexa and she thinks it may have damaged her brain.
Seems like the best approach would be to get it in chronological outline form with bullet points.
She is offering to pay me but I just told her that if she gets a massive settlement we can talk. But I really just want to help her get this complaint filed--not expecting any money.
Any thoughts? Does anybody have experience with filing such a complaint?
Use of Zyprexa, which is an antipsychotic approved for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, suggests she has a diagnosis that all by itself could result in that "about 50 pages long and extremely rambling and convoluted" complaint. Do you know what her diagnosis is?
She is not going to get a "settlement" of any amount by complaining to a medical board.
You might want to consider that aiding her in a board complaint might just reinforce paranoia and delusions related to her underlying illness, which would not help her medical situation at all.
I would not be filing anything with the state medical board until I had met with a lawyer to discuss potential malpractice actions and/or actions against the drug manufacturer. The big firms often have medical personnel on staff who will review the medical records and work with the attorney to decide on the best course of action or if there is even a case. The initial consultation is free. There is nothing to lose by going this route first. She can bring her own document and her medical records, meet with them and explain why she thinks she was injured. They've dealt with brain-injured people, severely disabled people, mentally handicapped etc. They can put the story together. They're going to get 30-40% of the settlement or award, make them earn it.
If she files a complaint with the medical board first, and later files a civil lawsuit, the complaint filed with the board, which will likely be a sworn document, may be used to undermine her civil suit. Imagine the summary document, created by a non-lawyer, from a convoluted and rambling original document produced by the brain-damaged victim, being examined by the elite team of lawyers representing Eli Lilly and Co. I cannot imagine that going well, and neither will any lawyer sizing up the case to decide if they want to represent her. They are going to want the first shot at how to frame the case. Again, if she truly feels she has been injured, she needs to discuss this with an appropriate attorney. Let them decide how to proceed.
The doctor is always right is your response? SMH. Even though you know NOTHING about this person or her medical history. How can you make such a statement?
Some people can't write for crap. Seen it firsthand with a person who was a tremendous speaker, great with people. First drafts sounded like they were written by a 12 y old.
But I digress. Medicine is always right, patient is always wrong. Got it.
That is NOT what markg implied at all. Don't sidetrack all threads to your fave agenda. OP, sounds as if you've gotten some good advice; staying in a lane of editor/compiler/organizer, not advocate. Good luck!
Last edited by Parnassia; 10-06-2019 at 04:00 PM..
Use of Zyprexa, which is an antipsychotic approved for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, suggests she has a diagnosis that all by itself could result in that "about 50 pages long and extremely rambling and convoluted" complaint. Do you know what her diagnosis is?
She is not going to get a "settlement" of any amount by complaining to a medical board.
You might want to consider that aiding her in a board complaint might just reinforce paranoia and delusions related to her underlying illness, which would not help her medical situation at all.
Thanks. I'm not clear on the diagnosis. I have not seen the records.
In addition to her mental issues, which have deteriorated over the years, she believes that it has deeply affected her physically. She complained to her doctor for several years about her symptoms and he kept her on it, not including her litany of complaints in her medical records.
Her complaint includes:
neurological damage, including tardive dyskinesia, dystonia, tics, and esophageal dysphagia
Last edited by AguaDulce; 10-06-2019 at 05:23 PM..
Reason: edited out most of comments re: complaint to preserve privacy
I would not be filing anything with the state medical board until I had met with a lawyer to discuss potential malpractice actions and/or actions against the drug manufacturer. The big firms often have medical personnel on staff who will review the medical records and work with the attorney to decide on the best course of action or if there is even a case. The initial consultation is free. There is nothing to lose by going this route first. She can bring her own document and her medical records, meet with them and explain why she thinks she was injured. They've dealt with brain-injured people, severely disabled people, mentally handicapped etc. They can put the story together. They're going to get 30-40% of the settlement or award, make them earn it.
If she files a complaint with the medical board first, and later files a civil lawsuit, the complaint filed with the board, which will likely be a sworn document, may be used to undermine her civil suit. Imagine the summary document, created by a non-lawyer, from a convoluted and rambling original document produced by the brain-damaged victim, being examined by the elite team of lawyers representing Eli Lilly and Co. I cannot imagine that going well, and neither will any lawyer sizing up the case to decide if they want to represent her. They are going to want the first shot at how to frame the case. Again, if she truly feels she has been injured, she needs to discuss this with an appropriate attorney. Let them decide how to proceed.
This is a very valid point.
I might steer her away from the board and try to help her find an attorney.
Medical boards are not courts. They do not make any financial awards to patients who make complaints against doctors.
I did offer advice. The OP can take it or leave it.
Zyprexa is an antipsychotic. It is not something that is prescribed casually. The OP should consider whether it is the patient's disease talking in that 50 pages, not a problem with the medication.
Your point is taken. But I have to try and help if I can.
My advice is don't write the complaint. You don't even really have an idea what she specifically claims her doctor or doctors did that was wrong do you?
You've admitted she probably has brain damage and that in your words she has written "an extremely rambling and convoluted" document.
Has it occurred to you that maybe she has some organic mental problems that cannot be effectively treated? Such things do exist and with commonality. Problems like schitzophrenia and manic depression can be treated, but they cannot be cured. Another thing that might occur to you is that she may not be following all the advice she has been given by her physician. Do you know for a fact that she has?
My advice is this: Instead of writing a complaint to the state medical board encourage your friend to seek a second opinion from another doctor in that specialty. If the doctor reaches the same diagnosis and prescribes the same treatment its a pretty good indication that the problem is simply that the condition cannot be effectively treated.
You aren't helping if you help prepare a document that has little or no factual basis.
This is what I was going to post.
Also, if her complaint is the result of her fabrications, you could open yourself to a defamation suit
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