The process of obtaining a medical degree and becoming a licensed medical doctor is challenging, lengthy and strenuous. This is necessary to ensure that those men and women who are entrusted with the care and very lives of patients are experienced, competent and consciousness. While the majority of medical doctors embody these qualities, there are some that fail to provide patients with adequate or safe medical care.
A 74-year-old doctor is currently facing disciplinary action that result in the revocation of his medical license. The doctor is named as a defendant in a medical malpractice lawsuit in which he is accused of misdiagnosing a patient and prescribing the wrong medications. The lawsuit, which was filed by a female patient in her mid-sixties, claims the doctor’s actions put her at risk for suffering “severe hypoglycemia, coma and death”.
These most recent accusations against the 74-year-old doctor are not the first to question his judgment and ability to properly diagnose patients. Two previous reported incidents in 1996 and 2006 resulted in patients suffering harm, injury and even death; and resulted in disciplinary action and the doctor being put on probation. When making a decision related to the most-recent accusations of gross medical negligence, the state medical board said it will take these prior cases into account.
This case provides a startling example of how some doctors are allowed to continue to practice despite prior acts of gross medical negligence. Patients are often unfairly kept in the dark about a doctor’s experience and past medical mistakes. Illinois patients who have suffered harm or injury as a result of an act of medical negligence would be wise to seek legal advice.
Source: The Modesto Bee, “Merced doctor accused of ‘gross negligence’ by state Medical Board,” Rob Parsons, Jan. 6, 2014
