Regain your quality of life … SUE THEIR ASS! PHARMACIST STEVE – January 17, 2017 by Pharmaciststeve
http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/mass-tort-litigation-class-actions-plaintiffs
I have talked to… exchanged emails with… read chronic pain pts statements that they have contacted law firms to sue some healthcare provider for cutting their opiates, discharging them for no – or trumped up – reasons.
And without exception, the law firms have replied NOT INTERESTED !!!!
The truth of the matter is that in our legal system… the “value” of the life of a handicapped/disabled, elderly, unemployable person is NEAR ZERO… because these people are considered “takers” as opposed to “makers” within our society.
No potential future earnings… no “value of life”.
Likewise, in suing a individual healthcare provider they can use the defense of “it was my professional opinion” as to the treatment needed by the pt’s and their medical issues.
Now that we have large medical practices and large corporations (hospitals) that are the employers of prescribers and these entities are making decisions on the limitations of mgs/day of opiates that their employed prescribers can provide to ALL PTS…
then we have two interesting concepts…
- first of all the corporation – or collusion of partners within a large group practice – attempting to practice medicine by some “cookie cutter edict”.
- Secondly, they are professing that they are implementing the CDC opiate guidelines.. when in fact they are implementing selected portions of the guidelines and not the guidelines in their entirety… so they are lying about their policies.
These large practices or hospitals typically have VERY DEEP POCKETS and their treatment edicts are causing hundreds or thousands of pts having their quality of life adversely affected.
I have put a link at the top of this post of the major CLASS ACTION LAW FIRMS.
If your are seeing a prescriber – particularly one who is an employee of a larger practice or part of a hospital system – and your opiate dosing has been lessened – because they are following the CDC guideline – and it has adversely affected your quality of life… Then it may be in your best interest to contact one or more of the above listed class action law firms… the more people that contact them…the more likely that the chronic pain community can get their attention.
It has been less than one year since the CDC guidelines have been published… the number of practices that are adopting these guidelines as their practice’s policy is growing… in all likelihood … if they have not impacted your quality of life yet.. it is just a matter of time before they do.
Until now the prescribers and their employers have only had to fear the DEA and their Hippocratic oath of “doing no harm”… now applied to their own license and financial well being. Several class action law suits could change their focal point of fear to from the DEA to the patients.
These various entities represents a lot of “DEEP POCKETS” to law firms that specialize in class action lawsuits. Remember you are not talking about really suing the prescriber that have reduced your medication… you will be suing their EMPLOYER who has dictated this change in your medically necessary medication and your quality of life.
EDS and Chronic Pain News & Info 
I got an email from my State Medical Board last week reminding me that I am required to complete several hours of prescribed Continuing Medical Education on opioid prescribing, if I am to remain licensed.
The materials for the state mandated course contain what you’d expect: boilerplate rhetoric about addiction, overdose, etc.
Next I got a letter from the head of the state Task Force on the Opioid Crisis, demanding (DEMANDING!) that I sign a personal pledge to uphold the CDC’s recommendations.
I replied, stating that I refuse to put my name on a piece of policy that has zero science behind it. I also requested, in writing, that the Board acknowledge that I do not prescribe ANY pharmaceutical medicines, and that I specifically do not prescribe ANY controlled substances, and am therefore exempt from inclusion in their policy requirements.
The Board replied that there is no mechanism for exception.
What we need is policy reform. Doctors don’t like this strongarm tactic either, but most doctors don’t have the choice to opt out of the system. They are usually employees. Their employers set policy. And the state Medical Board enforces it. No license, no livelihood.
I believe the CDC policy needs to be challenged at the Supreme Court level. Suing individual doctors will do nothing but cause more suicides and destroy more lives.
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The existing rules and the whole CME system need overhaul. In a way, we’re lucky to have gotten as far as we have with such awful rules/regulations/institutions.
Many of the “old ways” just don’t work in a society that has changed dramatically over the last decades since all these rules were made.
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I am not a lawyer but have been involved in a med mal case. I dont think the 2 examples cited would meet a legal theory under which one could sue. There is not “fixing” of proces which I believe can be illegal. Cookie cutter is not.
The guidelines are guidelines. They rae not mandatory.
I posted an article on natoional pain network a week or so ago relative to people wanting to sue. https://www.painnewsnetwork.org/stories/2017/4/2/what-rights-do-pain-patients-have Someone replied they were aware of 2 suits related to individuals not getting adequate pain relief. She did not have cites so no way to know if it was chronic pain, intractable pain/related to the terminal process.
(I will add my med mal case was in the courts for 14 yrs and despite the Pa Superior Court calling the Drs testimony perjurious and multitudes of proof of negligence and malpractice my lawyer forced me to settle for essentially bupkis, not even to cover the lifetime costs of permanent chronic pain and disfigurement. These cases do not go quickly nor would a class action.)
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I agree with you – we have no “right” to relief of our pain, just as we have no right to relief from depression, anxiety, or poverty.
But I wonder if there isn’t a case for malpractice when someone is suddenly cut off from opioids and thrown into withdrawal, possibly even driven to suicide. This would seem to be a clear case of a doctor’s negligence.
It is a medically established fact that withdrawal can and should be prevented because of the harm it can do to a patient.
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Again as a non lawyer (: that sounds actionable on its face. negligence for not allowing for titrated withdrawal.
It is plausible that lawyers have refused the cases Steve mentimed because the lawyers don;t see enough money in them. That often isthe reason as opposed to the legitimacy of the claim. Sadly
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Oops – sent reply to wrong comment.
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I have a Dr now that I have read on Medical reviews , someone an ex patient said they are going to sue her. She is chinese and she has veen taking 1to 3 pilks away from me every month in a slow taper, she does not explain as to why nor does she care that she has REALLY messed up my life and decreased my way of living. I had also heard rumors she is being investigated , however she has not said anything to any patients.
She dropped a 25 year old patient whose mother came to explain to her that her son is not the same since dealing with irretractable pain. Her manner is abrupt and she does not listen or care about her patients. She has the craziest way of prescribing , I have EVER seen. She just goes down the numbers backwards.
Most dr’s go by 5 or 10 or 20. Nope not her.
In fact the first day , I started with her she cut my med’s in half stating that I was on WAY too much. I have heard that is illegal.
I do not have any other way of getting help right now as my insurance is HMO and have been told by my insurance company that I would have to drop both her and my Primary care physician in order to be able to see anyone else and get the HMO off my insurance. I am so stressed out the week of my appointment that I cannot eat, sleep .
You tell me what kind of dr has the right to make someone feel like that? I have asked if she could at least put me at three pills a day and she yelled at me “WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE PILLS!” ? I told her that I wanted to be able to work and live life with some kind of relief. I brought in an advocate and she yelled at him to “GET OUT”! She yelled at me for five minutes after that and caused me so much distress that I had a panic attack and I have not had one in years.
This is a dr that should be sued. She is private practice.
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This is truly an awful situation and she is a truly awful doctor. It’s awful to be dependent on someone so callous and inflexible.
There’s no other option but to go through the endless and exhausting process of finding a different doctor. This one is a disaster, worse than useless.
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She sounds like a train wreck. YOu could talk to a lawyer they usually dont charge to evaluate if you have a case but truly unless you have actual dsmages, rather then (and I am not diminishing your experience) upset it is probably not worth it, just for the amount for which you could sue. And legal fees can take up to 44% of the money you might get.
I would suggest if you think she needs to be investigated you contact the local and state medical boards. They are not always such a help either but at the least the complaint would be on file
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