Florida Doctor Misdiagnosed Patients With MS

Florida Doctor Who Misdiagnosed Patients with MS Practicing Again

Posted on September 07, 2015 by Shapiro Law Group

A Florida doctor who was investigated by the U.S. Justice Department for misdiagnosing patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has reportedly opened a new practice. The doctor was living in a million-dollar home and making $600,000 a year until a whistleblower from his neurology department alerted federal authorities that he had been charging Medicare and other federal programs for unnecessary services. U.S. attorneys, who have referred to the doctor as a “greedy conman”, are considering criminal charges.

In interviews with the press, his former patients have shared their stories of hopelessness and financial ruin. One patient with two children remodeled her entire home to be wheelchair-accessible after her fake MS diagnosis. The mother quit a well-paying job and spent $50,000 remodeling her house. Her children were so distressed by the diagnosis that one of them needed counseling. According to the mother, her monthly MS treatments cost $5,000 and caused horrifying side effects.

Another patient story from the office of the doctor is equally disturbing. A woman spent $10,000 to have her breast implants removed, worrying they would intensify the symptoms of MS. She also contemplated suicide and divorced her husband.

Federal prosecutors argue the doctor was a major prescriber of Acthar, a $25,000 gel used to treat MS. Investigators claim he misdiagnosed MS 65 percent of the time.

Why Misdiagnosed Patients Deserve Justice

Although not all doctors commit criminal acts against patients, these stories show the horrible effects misdiagnosing patients can have. In some cases, misdiagnoses are acts of negligence, but that does not excuse the pain and suffering innocent patients go through.

Imagine being diagnosed with a terminal illness, only to find out two months later the doctors “got it wrong”. Misdiagnosed patients have their lives upended, and for that, they deserve justice.

Shapiro Law Group – Tampa Bay Medical Malpractice Attorneys

Tags: MultipleSclerosis

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