Thanks

That is the key here...to show mistake.

It seems clear there was a mistake...the trick is to prove who was at fault. Was it

1. The person who read the MRI (which I would bet a lot of money was NOT the doctor but the Radiologist)

or

2. The doctor who could not see the obvious tear (assuming there was an obvious tear)

I agree, it was likely the Radiologist.


Now the tough part...to sue and win you have to hire a lawyer (or find one who will sue for you on contingency).

Lets back up...

To successfully sue for medical malpractice, you must meet four part test:
1. A duty was owed - a legal duty exists whenever a hospital or health care provider undertakes care or treatment of a patient. They have a "duty" to treat you with "due care". This is typically easy to prove and would extend to the Radiologist.


2. The duty was breached - the provider failed to conform to the relevant standard of care. The standard of care is proved by expert testimony or by obvious errors (the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur or 'the thing speaks for itself'). This is often the tough part...since you have to prove, with expert testimony, that, basically, the doctor messed this up...that they were "negligent".

In your case, you would need to prove the Radiologist "blew it"...but the MRI still exists...so its actually easy to look at it (easy for someone with training) to see.

3. The breach caused or aggravated an injury - The breach of duty was a proximate cause of the injury. If you can show they messed up, its often easy to the next step...that the mess up caused the injury. SO if you can show that the MRI did NOT show a tear? Then you got em! You have a great suit.



4. Damages - Without damages (losses which may be pecuniary or emotional), there is no basis for a claim, regardless of whether the medical provider was negligent.
This is often the second hardest part to prove, since you need to have serious injury to convince an attorney to bring the case.

Here, your damages are limited (assuming you recover...but if you do not recover? Then your damages will go way up).

Based on your description, it appears you may indeed have a case. If you can show that the Radiologist misdiagnosed this, and that misdiagnosis lead to your paying for this mess, you would have a strong case.


I would get a copy of that MRI (you rate it under federal law) and have a few other folks look at this to see if they get the same take as the guy (or gal) who said there was a tear. If they disagree? Go get a lawyer and sue em!