Getting a diagnosis of HIV is devastating for almost any patient. Learning to live with the diagnosis often takes time. Letting your family members know about the diagnosis is another hurdle that patients with HIV have to cross. Now, imagine that you were wrongfully diagnosed with HIV. Can you imagine the feelings that would overtake you when you find out that you don’t really have the virus? One Kentucky man who was diagnosed with HIV in 2004 recently went through that exact situation.
The man was diagnosed with HIV by doctors at the University of Kentucky. He lived with that diagnosis until last year, when he learned that he was the victim of a medical misdiagnosis. He didn’t have HIV. He opted to pursue a claim for compensation from the doctors who made the diagnosis, but the judge in the case ruled that the man waited too long to seek compensation.
In Kentucky, victims of medical malpractice have one year to file a claim for compensation. In this man’s case, the judge said that the man should have known about the misdiagnosis before last year. The judge said that the man had been informed by others of the misdiagnosis.
The man has the right to file an appeal but hasn’t made the decision about whether to pursue that option or not. His case does prove that the statute of limitations in medical malpractice cases is a serious limitation. Anyone who has been the victim of a medical misdiagnosis should make sure to take action as soon as he or she has suspicions that the doctor didn’t make the correct diagnosis to avoid going through what this man is going through.
If a medical professional failed to diagnose you or someone you love and it led to further injury or death, you have the right to obtain compensation through a medical malpractice claim. For a completely confidential and free consultation regarding your medical misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose claim, call the experienced Kentucky and Ohio medical malpractice attorneys at TLF: The Medical Injury Law Firm today.
Source: WTVQ, “Judge: Too Late to Sue for Misdiagnosis of HIV” Melanie Kendall, Sep. 15, 2014