PA high court to examine Facebook post’s impact on Lyme case
The Legal Intelligencer, August 21, 2017:
by Max Mitchell
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to take up the appeal of a woman who aims to sue her doctor over an alleged misdiagnosis of her Lyme disease as multiple sclerosis.
The woman’s case had been tossed out partly because of Facebook posts indicating she knew she suffered from the disease years before filing suit.
The justices on Aug. 18 granted allocatur in Nicolaou v. Martin to address whether plaintiff Nancy Nicolaou’s claims met an exception to the discovery rule since she “did not and was financially unable to, confirm [the defendant’s] negligent misdiagnosis until final medical testing confirmed she had Lyme disease.” READ MORE.
Despite Pennsylvania having the most cases of Tick Borne Illnesses in the US, doctors, urgent cares and ERs do not want to diagnose Tick Borne Illnesses because they know insurance (including Medicare and Medicaid) will not pay. I was told by Urgent Cares and an ER that I had an upper respiratory infection. When I showed the urgent care doctor the peculiar rashes over my body, he asked me if I could have Zika! When I listed my symptoms, he said he did not have enough time and could I possibly “need attention”. When I went to the ER I was told they do not test for Lyme and I should go to an infectious disease doctor, but 27 days of antibiotics should “cure” me. They did not! I tried making an appointment with “FIVE” different doctors in my area. Despite having Medicare, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, GHI, SHIP, and Long Term AARP/Met Life policy, not one would give me an appointment! I thought I was having a stroke, finally found a Lyme Specialist who gave me an appointment immediately. Medicare refused to reimburse me for any of the charges, so none of my other insurance would pay. I am out nearly $20,000! Another member of my family also has Tick Borne Illnesses. We have gone from doctor to doctor, and were told to see a therapist as it was all in his head. He had a “bull’s eye” twelve inches round! Recently realized that my Mother suffered from a tick bite that wasn’t correctly treated in Pennsylvania. What is needed is a class action law suit to “shake this place up” If I, my nephew and my Mother had been treated in a timely and appropriate manner, we would not have been so sick. All of the medical professionals want is money! They should hang their heads in shame! Hope she wins millions!
Phyllis-I totally agree with you. If a class action law suite happens, I want in. I was diagnosed with Lyme by positive Western Blot in 1989 after being very ill for 1 1/2 years. I was given 30 days of doxy, but when I did not recover, I was dismissed by an I.D. doc as having fibromyalgia. My brother is even sicker than I am. If I wasn’t so sick, I’d try to start a revolution against these greedy idiots who don’t realize that it’s only a matter of time until they will be in the same boat as we are. Hang in there!
Doxy only makes the rash go away. It does not cure, or even make a dent in Tick Borne Illnesses. We are being punished for something we have no control over. We become ill through no misbehavior or acts. We have to constantly call our Federal politicians if we want to get somewhere. State politicians really have no power. I have been contacting (really being a PEST!) my Federal Representatives regarding Medicare and Medicaid not paying. Look up how many politicians and immediate family members have tick borne illnesses. They (thanks to our taxes) do not have the problem of paying for their care, or getting care from “Lyme Specialists”. Why are our lives ruined with physical, mental, emotional, and financial problems? I no longer wish to be treated as a Tuskeegee experiment. Annoyed being told that more research and research funding is necessary. This is a disgrace! When I start feeling better I get back on my soapbox! If we do not support each other, no one “out there” will help us. I am sick of being sick, I want my life back! I want insurance that I have paid into for years and years, never used, now that I need my insurance to pay for my treatment!
Phyllis. I to went to my doctor something on the back of my shoulder I did not see. She said it was a spider bite. Three days later I had a quarter size blotches on my chest. I to went to urgent care they said it was giant hives gave me prednisone the rash got bigger around & spreading I only took 2 pills when my friends who have epidemiology degrees said it was erethema margins the lymes rash They new the PA & called him. I went on Doxie for thirty days the ras immediately started to fade. I live in the Poconos of Pa loaded with ticks. God bless Phyllis I pray you will get well. The insurance companies etc are just good at taking your money.
me too on a CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT for my almost 49 yrs. of chronic lyme and my LATE HUSBAND, JACK GORDON, whose brain autopsy made WORLDWIDE HISTORY having both NON-DIAGNOSED lyme disease (for 35 hellish years) and LEWY body dementia.
lymedisease.org WHO has statistics of ALL DEATHS from tick-borne diseases??
i was asked this question 2 days ago; thanks!
betty gordon, iowa lyme activist