Story 111

I settled with a doctor who failed to diagnose my hip problem, femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). Apart from years of suffering and decreased mobility ending with a double hip replacement, this also resulted in spending thousands of dollars for useless treatments at his clinic.
The judge said that if I proceeded with the case and lost (which was statistically highly probable), I could be liable for many thousands of dollars in court costs.
I had to make the decision on the spot in court.
In addition to the doctor escaping accountability, I was told that I cannot speak or write about my experience (though some doubts have also been raised about that restriction). Writing about it would not only be cathartic for me, but it would also save other people from suffering the same experience. Although the events of this case go back more than 20 years, even now FAI is not adequately recognized. For example, the Arthritis Society website does not mention it at all, whereas the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons convened a research symposium in 2012 based on the fact that for the past decade surgeons had been observing the “profound etiological role of FAI” in hip arthritis. My court case and NDA were completed in 2013.