Alex Rodriguez May File Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Against Yankee’s Team Doctor

Alex Rodriguez may be preparing to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against, Chris Ahmad, the Yankee’s team doctor, for incorrectly diagnosing his hip.

He has not yet filed a suit but a source says that his legal team is working on collecting evidence to support the claim that a misdiagnosis occurred.

It was apparent that Rodriguez did not have an easy time during the postseason. For the first time in the American League Division Series Raul Ibanez had to pinch-hit for Rodriguez in the game against the Orioles. Rodriguez told team members following the game that something about his hip felt “off.” But an MRI of both hips actually showed that the right hip was fine, however the left was not.

The radiologist who performed the MRI on October 11 wrote in his report regarding “Stable postoperative appearance of the right hip with no evidence of labral re-tear, stable degenerative change, and only minimal gluteus medius insertional tendinosis. Partial evaluation of left hip revealing superior labral tear with small parabal cyst.” While the report of the radiologist is not reflective of Dr. Ahmad’s interpretation of the injury, the results of the MRI were shared with him.

Radiologists forwarded the findings to Dr. Marc Philippon who ordered a second MRI of just the left hip. This MRI showed that his hip required surgery.

Rodriguez continued to play throughout the playoffs but it was obvious that he was not at the top of his game.

Rodriguez and his attorneys believe that Ahmad was aware of the injured hip ever since the original MRI but failed to inform him of the serious injury that ended up affecting his ability to play.

The Yankees did release a statement regarding the medical malpractice speculation saying that the team did not have any complaints about the care that Dr. Christopher Ahmad or the New York Presbyterian Hospital provided to the team. They also said that they had never received any complaints from Alex Rodriguez about his hip during the 2012 season or the postseason. The Yankees never received a diagnosis about his hip during the season.

Rodriguez’ legal claim is expected to state that Ahmad should have diagnosed the labral tear of his left hip during the October playoffs.

Some are saying that the potential medical malpractice suit is meant to deflect attention from the scandal surrounding allegations that Rodriguez was using performance enhancing drugs.

Misdiagnosis is the most common type of medical malpractice and can have serious consequences for patients. If you have been injured by an instance of medical malpractice, contact a St. Louis medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. Doctors who fail to meet the accepted standard of care must be held accountable in order to protect other patients from injury and should be required to compensate you for the losses pertaining to your injury. Whether Rodriguez’ doctor misdiagnosed his injury or failed to meet the accepted standard of care remains to be seen.

To speak with a St. Louis medical malpractice lawyer, call the Zevan and Davidson Law Firm at (314) 588-7200.

photo credit: Keith Allison