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Hi I am 21 years old and when I was 14 I was checked in Miami childrens hospital and they prescribed me Abilify in 2005 and the antipsychotic drug was given me without being approved for children by the FDA (there was no studies for it) and I was also prescribed Lexapro. First of all I was only emotional, expressing my feelings of being bullied and abused when I grew up and they told me they everything I say is confidential and I can express my self that there only there to help me so I expressed myself openly and how I was really depressed. You are not suppose to prescribe anti psychotic for depression or even anxiety , supposedly most recent studies show it can boost the anti depressant very recent studies and is a last resort if anti depressants do not work. I was never ever prescribed a anti depressant by itself and was given that right away. The doctors never asked me to follow up, never advised me parents about any side effects or long term affects of the anti psychotic medicine prescribed me so I went about taking it for the next four years. during those 4 years I was going through major side effects that were not normal and caused other psychiatrist to assume that I was schizophrenic , delusional or psychotic. One even diagnosed me with Bipolar which is a permanent disorder likewise schizophrenia. I have all the records that prove this. I believe from what they told me at the hospitals that they concluded that I had these illnesses and did not take a second chance to give me therapy or any of the sort. When I was 18 years old I was really becoming out of hand as to having adverse side affects and mind you the label of antipsychotic medicine state it is only for a short term treatment plan of 6-8 weeks. Knowingly telling the doctors between the ages of 15-17 through different hospitals(Citrus health, Miami childrens, and another facility that is in my records) they disregarded that fact. ABILIFY: here are some facts: Benzodiazepines (eg, lorazepam),s (SSRIs) (eg, fluoxetine), or voriconazole because they may increase the risk of Abilify's side effects Read more at http://www.drugs.com/cdi/abilify.html#s4qH0jqAAdy68u1D.99 ^ I was already prescribed klonopin from citrus health for anxiety which actually makes abilify much worse, and aswell as the SSRI which is Lexapro. They disregarded that my condition was the medicine for so many years and added more to try and take it away. In 2009 at Jackson South when I was 18 I had went again, continuing my story. Carmen Espinosa was the psychiatrist that saw me and that day I had brought a paper of lyrics from a band that writes crazy lyrics (a metal band) and I said this is a way to express my self. She began to assume that I wrote it and refused to believe me for days that I did not write it and said this is indeed a schizophrenic person and my records show that she diagnosed me with bipolar, schizophrenia, rage attack, anxiety, and she called me borderline delusional(all because of the lyrics of that band) I indeed had anxiety, and my attitude was not ideal but I was just 18 and was trying to explain to her my situation and the fact that she did not care to consider those things are frustrating in itself. she changed my medicine after taking abilify and lexapro for 4 years to Risperidone 4mg, Celexa 30mg, and klonopin x3 a day. Facts: I should not be on these medicines for more than a few months, I was never ever schizophrenic , bipolar, or anything but was reacting towards the insane side effects and adverse effects of the medicine I was put on for especially so long! I later saw a doctor at CHI when I was 19 and complained bout how drowsy and dead I felt from the medicine, lethargic, etc... and he explained how 4mg is incredibly high dosage and put me on 1mg risperdal, 20mg celexa and took me off klonopin. By this point im being tossed left and right my doctors and hospitals and have no way of controlling, having logic, explaining myself as im being controlled and poisoned from long term use of this damaging meds. Important facts: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jorilind/risperfacts.html (losing space to type) at the age of 20 I went to Carmen espinosa and explained the migraines, and visual problem the medicine is causing me and she denied it and told me leave her office for ever(doesnt see anymore) For a year I knew these were the cause of all my problems and I had to get off of them. I been seen a new psychiatrist which tells me I do not have those disorders and am just depressed I have now ween off them all throught a year and have no disorders! fact! Proof that it was the medicine in itself. (so many bills) and ive had to go to the emergency room more about 6 times in a period of 4 months and have huge bills because of the after effects of getting off (Neurologist;migraine) eye doc says its from the long term meds. I believe I have a very good reason to make a case! please advise me in what is fact ,and the steps etc.
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: Florida Already Tried: Spoken to a few attorneys online and they say that it could be easily seen as malpractice or misdiagnosis. There is no way to amount to the years of unnessacary suffering and bills I have gotten. I am awaiting to see what I should do to be confident in making the right steps for such an injustice without having a problem explaining such a long story..
Hi and welcome to JA,
I'm so sorry you have gone through all this. You HAD a great claim. I say HAD because it is now too late to bring the claim under what we call the statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims. Florida has a particularly harsh one. Contact me again with questions. Here it is:
The statute of limitations is a time limit set by law which creates a deadline for filing a lawsuit. If you file your suit after the deadline the suit will be thrown out. Each state has its own special requirements and some states allow extensions or have exceptions to their time limits. Although each state differs, these malpractice statutes of limitations may be as short as six months or as long as four years or more. Some states (BUT NOT FLORIDA!) will postpone the running of the statute of limitations for an injured child until the child reaches a certain age.
If you think you may have a claim for medical malpractice you should contact a malpractice lawyer in your state as soon as possible to learn the precise deadline in your state. There may be a great deal of work to do to prepare your case before it can be filed. Some malpractice lawyers will not even agree to investigate a potential case unless there are several months remaining on the statute of limitations. Another benefit to starting the claim as soon as possible is that sometimes there are important records that can be obtained before they are destroyed or reduced to microfilm. The prompt collection of evidence may make a big difference in successfully proving your case. It is far easier to prove a medical record has been altered if you have access to the original rather than a microfilm copy.
In Florida the statute of limitations for medical malpractice is two years from when the patient (or sometimes a particular family member or guardian) either knew, or should have known with the exercise of reasonable diligence, that the injury has occurred and there is a reasonable possibility that the injury was caused by medical malpractice. This definition comes from a combination of the actual statute itself, (see 95.11, F.S.) and multiple Florida case decisions which describe what is necessary for one to have knowledge of the "incident", which is the language used in the statute.
Florida also has a very harsh rule that goes along with it called the statute of repose. This rule says that unless there is fraud, concealment, or misrepresentation, under no circumstances may a healthcare provider be sued for medical malpractice more than four years after the actual incident of malpractice. So even if the patient or family does not know about the malpractice, they may not bring the claim more than four years after the malpractice occurs under most circumstances.
In 1996 Florida adopted for the first time a special statute of repose for children. For incidents of medical malpractice which occur on or after July 1, 1996, the four year statute of repose cannot act to cut off a child's malpractice claim prior to the child's eighth birthday. Keep in mind, however, that the two year statute of limitations can still cut off the claim well prior to that if the parents or guardian of the child either know, or with the exercise of reasonable care should have known, of the injury to the child and the reasonable possibility that it was caused by malpractice. In other words, while the statute of repose was extended for certain children, there was no similar extension for the statute of limitations, and either one may cut off your claim if you don't file it soon enough.
If the case is going to involve a State agency as a defendant, or a military or Veterans Administration Hospital or Clinic, there are special advance notice and time requirements that must be strictly followed.
rich
Experience: NYC Personal Injury Trial Attorney for 30+ years; Law professor; Arbitrator; Psychotherapist.
Hi Rich, Thank you for being so kind to go in depths with the information of the SOL. Two other lawyers explained to me that SOL for florida is two years and if I was a minor it starts at 18 meaning I could not do anything after the age of 20 but IF I suffered through and or was still being treated for what happened even at 19 that the SOL would be lifted. I suffered through this at 19, 20, and am still suffering through the horrors of this injustice. I have many emergency room records, hospital records, doctor records from all these ages and as of this year. Please elaborate with me and explain to me if this is still a possible case.Thank you,Manny