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I filed a federal lawsuit against the doctors from 36 months ago


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I went through a lot 35 months ago, and in 2 weeks will be exactly 36 months off of benzos. Just like everybody else on this website, I had a lot of trauma and bad memories from the hospital visits and forced involuntary stays and mistreatment by Medical professionals.

 

I decided I would finally go through with my federal lawsuit at the US District Court, so I filled out the legal complaint and submitted it electronically to the courts, and I was given a docket number and a federal judge. I had to wait on my summons to be signed by the clerk, and for the lawsuit to be accepted by the judge. That process is now over, and I have served the legal summons to the defendant.

 

Now I have a jury trial coming up in federal court, and I hope to recover some damages because of all the mistreatment from the medical professionals during the benzo detox process. Because of legal reasons, I'm not going to be too specific on anything, but it was almost three years ago so I thought it would be a good anniversary present for my 36 months off of benzos.

 

Originally I Wasted Years calling around to different lawyers and trying to find somebody to represent me, only to find out I could do it myself. It's really just a matter of having exhibits and proof of your statements, and following the court protocol and reading their instructions. They literally have instruction list and with all the time we are already on benzo buddies and on the internet over this few year-long process, it's definitely beneficial to get the ball rolling.

 

36 months of nothing other than brainstorming and thinking and trying to heal, it seems like an eternity. Now that I'm very close to healing and almost at my 36-month mark, I'm able to think more logically about what I actually need to do, rather than just thinking about what I could do. You have to put things into action, and you have to take steps towards doing what you think is right.

 

I'm still having sleep issues and pain issues and anxiety issues, but they are definitely improving. I'm living a regular lifestyle now other than being inside a lot more than I should. Aside from that, I know that I'm going to be healed soon.

 

One thing I've learned throughout this benzo withdrawal process, is that your mind tells you what you need to do. Sometimes when I wake up, my mind is automatically telling me what my schedule needs to be for the day. It tells me which important things to think about, and which things to complete as tasks. When I was taking the pills, my brain was almost dead and I didn't have any acknowledgment of what I should be doing.

 

Now at 36 months, my body tells me what kind of foods I need. Sometimes I get a sweet tooth, so I know to eat fruit. Sometimes I feel like I need fiber and vegetables because they would feel soothing, so I hydrate myself with vegetables. Sometimes I really want a big meaty fatty hamburger or big pieces of chicken, so I will eat lots of protein. I always have every kind of food I need in my fridge all at once, so I can pick my items depending on what my body is telling me. When I was taking pills, I was always eating junk and my body and brain didn't tell me anything.

 

Now I'm capable of eating whatever I want, going anywhere I want, and fighting anybody I want in court. I'm pretty sure that within the near future everything will be back to normal, whatever that means.

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I am so impressed Justin.  A huge congratulations for finding your way off benzos and doing what you know is right.  I'm so glad your brain is working again, and that healing is at hand.  Some of your story mirrors my own.  Probably many of us.  You give me hope.
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is there a statute of limitations to file with a US District Court like there is to file a malpractice suit? I know in my state I missed the 2 year deadline. I am itching for some kind of legal justice to compensate for this immense suffering. Unfortunately laws have been written in the favor of corporations and not people, because you know, corporations are people.

I went through a lot 35 months ago, and in 2 weeks will be exactly 36 months off of benzos. Just like everybody else on this website, I had a lot of trauma and bad memories from the hospital visits and forced involuntary stays and mistreatment by Medical professionals.

 

I decided I would finally go through with my federal lawsuit at the US District Court, so I filled out the legal complaint and submitted it electronically to the courts, and I was given a docket number and a federal judge. I had to wait on my summons to be signed by the clerk, and for the lawsuit to be accepted by the judge. That process is now over, and I have served the legal summons to the defendant.

 

Now I have a jury trial coming up in federal court, and I hope to recover some damages because of all the mistreatment from the medical professionals during the benzo detox process. Because of legal reasons, I'm not going to be too specific on anything, but it was almost three years ago so I thought it would be a good anniversary present for my 36 months off of benzos.

 

Originally I Wasted Years calling around to different lawyers and trying to find somebody to represent me, only to find out I could do it myself. It's really just a matter of having exhibits and proof of your statements, and following the court protocol and reading their instructions. They literally have instruction list and with all the time we are already on benzo buddies and on the internet over this few year-long process, it's definitely beneficial to get the ball rolling.

 

36 months of nothing other than brainstorming and thinking and trying to heal, it seems like an eternity. Now that I'm very close to healing and almost at my 36-month mark, I'm able to think more logically about what I actually need to do, rather than just thinking about what I could do. You have to put things into action, and you have to take steps towards doing what you think is right.

 

I'm still having sleep issues and pain issues and anxiety issues, but they are definitely improving. I'm living a regular lifestyle now other than being inside a lot more than I should. Aside from that, I know that I'm going to be healed soon.

 

One thing I've learned throughout this benzo withdrawal process, is that your mind tells you what you need to do. Sometimes when I wake up, my mind is automatically telling me what my schedule needs to be for the day. It tells me which important things to think about, and which things to complete as tasks. When I was taking the pills, my brain was almost dead and I didn't have any acknowledgment of what I should be doing.

 

Now at 36 months, my body tells me what kind of foods I need. Sometimes I get a sweet tooth, so I know to eat fruit. Sometimes I feel like I need fiber and vegetables because they would feel soothing, so I hydrate myself with vegetables. Sometimes I really want a big meaty fatty hamburger or big pieces of chicken, so I will eat lots of protein. I always have every kind of food I need in my fridge all at once, so I can pick my items depending on what my body is telling me. When I was taking pills, I was always eating junk and my body and brain didn't tell me anything.

 

Now I'm capable of eating whatever I want, going anywhere I want, and fighting anybody I want in court. I'm pretty sure that within the near future everything will be back to normal, whatever that means.

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is there a statute of limitations to file with a US District Court like there is to file a malpractice suit? I know in my state I missed the 2 year deadline. I am itching for some kind of legal justice to compensate for this immense suffering. Unfortunately laws have been written in the favor of corporations and not people, because you know, corporations are people.

I went through a lot 35 months ago, and in 2 weeks will be exactly 36 months off of benzos. Just like everybody else on this website, I had a lot of trauma and bad memories from the hospital visits and forced involuntary stays and mistreatment by Medical professionals.

 

I decided I would finally go through with my federal lawsuit at the US District Court, so I filled out the legal complaint and submitted it electronically to the courts, and I was given a docket number and a federal judge. I had to wait on my summons to be signed by the clerk, and for the lawsuit to be accepted by the judge. That process is now over, and I have served the legal summons to the defendant.

 

Now I have a jury trial coming up in federal court, and I hope to recover some damages because of all the mistreatment from the medical professionals during the benzo detox process. Because of legal reasons, I'm not going to be too specific on anything, but it was almost three years ago so I thought it would be a good anniversary present for my 36 months off of benzos.

 

Originally I Wasted Years calling around to different lawyers and trying to find somebody to represent me, only to find out I could do it myself. It's really just a matter of having exhibits and proof of your statements, and following the court protocol and reading their instructions. They literally have instruction list and with all the time we are already on benzo buddies and on the internet over this few year-long process, it's definitely beneficial to get the ball rolling.

 

36 months of nothing other than brainstorming and thinking and trying to heal, it seems like an eternity. Now that I'm very close to healing and almost at my 36-month mark, I'm able to think more logically about what I actually need to do, rather than just thinking about what I could do. You have to put things into action, and you have to take steps towards doing what you think is right.

 

I'm still having sleep issues and pain issues and anxiety issues, but they are definitely improving. I'm living a regular lifestyle now other than being inside a lot more than I should. Aside from that, I know that I'm going to be healed soon.

 

One thing I've learned throughout this benzo withdrawal process, is that your mind tells you what you need to do. Sometimes when I wake up, my mind is automatically telling me what my schedule needs to be for the day. It tells me which important things to think about, and which things to complete as tasks. When I was taking the pills, my brain was almost dead and I didn't have any acknowledgment of what I should be doing.

 

Now at 36 months, my body tells me what kind of foods I need. Sometimes I get a sweet tooth, so I know to eat fruit. Sometimes I feel like I need fiber and vegetables because they would feel soothing, so I hydrate myself with vegetables. Sometimes I really want a big meaty fatty hamburger or big pieces of chicken, so I will eat lots of protein. I always have every kind of food I need in my fridge all at once, so I can pick my items depending on what my body is telling me. When I was taking pills, I was always eating junk and my body and brain didn't tell me anything.

 

Now I'm capable of eating whatever I want, going anywhere I want, and fighting anybody I want in court. I'm pretty sure that within the near future everything will be back to normal, whatever that means.

We only have two years? Im 1.5 years in and barely can get out of bed. How are we supposed to manage that?
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Hello,

 

Thanks. I'm not sure if there's a "state statute of limitations" on federal court cases or not. I'm assuming yes, because mine is at US District Court Western division of Washington state, so it most likely goes by Washington state rules?? Although I'm not sure, good question.

 

Originally I looked up North Carolina because that's where it took place, but since I'm in Seattle now, it's called a diversity of citizenship case (parties in 2 states). And since it's over 75k dollars, that qualifies for federal court along with federal act questions (law violations). So this isn't typically a case that goes to state court, because it's federal acts and laws.

 

I have about a 50/50 chance, and I'm more than willing to accepty losses, if it means putting up a good fight. You win some, you lose some. Just beware of "fee shifting" from the defendant if you lose, as the prevailing party can recover hundreds of thousands of dollars in the event you lose after a 3 or 4 year long battle. I'm prepared for loss, but more prepared for a win with pysical and mental scars as proof.

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Thank you for the detailed answer and good luck to you! Sometimes for me my best hope is to not be permanently damaged. Maybe someday I’ll find some peace with all of this, somehow. Sigh.

Hello,

 

Thanks. I'm not sure if there's a "state statute of limitations" on federal court cases or not. I'm assuming yes, because mine is at US District Court Western division of Washington state, so it most likely goes by Washington state rules?? Although I'm not sure, good question.

 

Originally I looked up North Carolina because that's where it took place, but since I'm in Seattle now, it's called a diversity of citizenship case (parties in 2 states). And since it's over 75k dollars, that qualifies for federal court along with federal act questions (law violations). So this isn't typically a case that goes to state court, because it's federal acts and laws.

 

I have about a 50/50 chance, and I'm more than willing to accepty losses, if it means putting up a good fight. You win some, you lose some. Just beware of "fee shifting" from the defendant if you lose, as the prevailing party can recover hundreds of thousands of dollars in the event you lose after a 3 or 4 year long battle. I'm prepared for loss, but more prepared for a win with pysical and mental scars as proof.

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Hey, how's it going?

How was your benzo withdrawal? Did your sleep come back? I saw that you used gabepentin, I would like to know if this medicine helped in any way. I appreciate the help.

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For sure, I hope we all win. No, my sleep is still messed up. I mean yes I'm getting sleep, but it's all broken up and not at the correct times. Sometimes I sleep all day almost, and then I'm up all night. And sometimes I sleep half the night, and then sleep half the day. I wish that my normal night time sleep would come back, or at least sometime throughout the night instead of the daytime.
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  • 4 months later...

Unfortunately,  many psychiatrists and psychiatric NPs make one sign an agreement stating they explained how addictive the pill can be.

Mine made me sign a paper when she prescribed klonopin and other medications.

 

Did you sign one? I assume they've caught on they can be taken to court.

 

I should have shredded the paper and walked out.

 

The psychiatrists and doctors that tell ppl no to prescribing them any psychotropic drug are the smartest! If I were a doctor (which I'm not and don't want to be), I wouldn't prescribe any psychotropic drug...at all.

 

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I have been following your situation, glad to see you now have a trial date. I am pursuing a potential malpractice suit against the doctor who prescribed a drug I never needed. I talked to a Texas firm somebody posted on here, that now has headquarters in Florida and doing cases like mine. I fit the criteria on their website, and the person I spoke to said I most definitely have a case. Unfortunately, they are so backlogged handling brain and spine injury cases, they can't take mine before the statute of limitations runs out. They suggested a lawyer near me. I only had one who expressed interest, then he learned he previously represented my doctor for a case not involving her occupation, and there would be an ethical conflict of interest. He agreed I likely could meet the burden of proof for a case. The rest have been useless. So, because of you, I began researching Pro Se Litigant cases.

 

I plan on approaching the doctor first, with my evidence, to see if I can get a settlement offer out of court, and kept confidential. I've been doing a lot of reading. So, I may be filing as a Pro Se Litigant. In my state, you have to file an Affidavit of Intent to Sue, before negotiating an out of court settlement. If I can't get a settlement offer, and the Statute of Limitations is looming, I can request a 90 day extension. I can file extensions of 90 days indefinitely, until they settle, or a trial date is set. I would be filing in state Superior Court. I don't know if I'll see anything, my Endocrinologist caught the error. and I have her clinical notes from the office visit where she pointed out the error. I have so much more to hang this doctor, and I'm sure going to take a crack at it.

 

I hope you succeed, it will give an incentive for others to see if they should pursue litigation. Patients should be aware that they have to meet a burden of proof, there has to be a preponderance of evidence against the original doctor that prescribed these medications.

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We only have two years? Im 1.5 years in and barely can get out of bed. How are we supposed to manage that?

 

Each state has their own Statute of Limitations. Some are two years, some are three. My state is two years from the date you became aware of the injury, and if it involves a medication that the patient did not know would be the cause of their injury, it is three. Mine also allows you to add unlimited 90 extensions, if negotiating a settlement out of court. Extensions can be granted until a settlement is reached, or a trial date is set. You have to search for Malpractice Statute of Limitations for the state you live in.

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Unfortunately,  many psychiatrists and psychiatric NPs make one sign an agreement stating they explained how addictive the pill can be.

Mine made me sign a paper when she prescribed klonopin and other medications.

 

Did you sign one? I assume they've caught on they can be taken to court

 

 

Mine didn't. In fact, she told me she wasn't worried about me, I would have no problem getting off the benzo. I plan on using her own words against her.

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I think a lot of people are confused about lawsuits, just as I was. I wasted most of my time talking to lawyers, because they are the ultimate waste of time in themselves. I mean sure they can navigate the court system and the online motions and all that stuff for you, but in my case about 90% of my time wasted was just trying to find a lawyer. 99% of them said no and they weren't interested, so then I was just explaining myself over and over for no reason and getting nowhere.

 

If you think you have a solid case and you're willing to risk your credit in case you lose, then I say go ahead and file it as a pro se. If you're already aware of the risks of losing, then there's nothing holding you back. But if you don't want to risk losing, and you don't want to risk your credit or the potential to owe someone money, then I say stay away from lawsuits.

 

I ended up voluntarily dismissing both of my lawsuits, because they got to be too stressful for me. They were wasting all my time and I was tired of uploading documents to the Pacer system at the federal courthouse. Not only that, but I started to realize it's highly unlikely to hold a doctor accountable in psychiatry. The whole preponderance of evidence thing basically works against psychiatry, and the exact same way that we have doubts about whether or not Psychiatry is legit in the first place. What I mean by that, if there's no physical proof of it, then how do you prove it?

 

For example, you know how we're always talking about on benzo buddies whether or not there's any such thing as a mental health condition in the first place? Well let's say that there is, it would only be because the Psychiatry field says so. Doctor's word is usually always above a regular person's word, because they're the ones with the medical experience. For example, if a medical doctor says you have generalized anxiety disorder, Then if you get put on the stand at trial, you wouldn't be able to say that you don't have generalized anxiety disorder. It's always the doctor's word over yours. So when it comes to prescribed psychiatric pills, if the doctor says they thought you needed it and that was their medical opinion, how are you going to prove their medical opinion wrong?

 

Now when it comes to psychiatric pills from years and years ago that were prescribed when we didn't have a mental health condition, how are we going to prove that we didn't have one years ago? All the doctor has to say is that was his medical opinion at the time, and perhaps your mental health condition improved over the last couple years. So by the time you're in trial, maybe you grew out of it, maybe your condition resolved itself, etc, but there's really no way to prove the doctor was wrong years ago. See what I mean?

 

Now if you had gone to a second or third doctor to get different opinions right after getting diagnosed by the first doctor, then you could use that against them in court. But if you had done that, then you never would have been on those pills for a long time in the first place. So that would pretty much eliminate any possibility of lawsuits as well.

 

The other reason it's hard to sue psychiatrists for stuff in the past, whenever you look in the medical records, most likely you were telling the doctor that the benzos were working. And if you had been telling the doctor that they were not working and you were feeling horrible from them, most likely they would have pulled you off of the benzos. That's almost like they cover their tracks in every way possible.

 

Or think about the people that die from Psychiatric pills, it always gets blamed on natural causes or heart problems or blood pressure issues or whatever else. Nobody ever blames death on psychiatric pills, because they're not considered dangerous in an overdose type of way. I don't think you would ever see a coroner blame a death on an antidepressant or a mood stabilizer. I'm pretty sure Psychiatry gets out of that all the time as well.

 

Or let's say that you died because of a cocktail of psychiatric pills that shouldn't have been prescribed together, that would be blamed on the pharmacist most likely. Once again, I think the psychiatrist would get out of that.

 

It wasn't until I was about three or four months into my lawsuit that I started to realize even with my physical scars that got left after all of this ordeal, I don't see any way to prove that it was him that did it. There's definitely proof of what happened, there's just not proof of who caused it to happen if that makes sense.

 

With all of that being said, I didn't want to risk ruining my credit just because I was taking a chance at trying to make him into the enemy at court. And then the other issue is whenever you're trying to make someone into an enemy at court, their attorney does the same to you. They will manipulate the story on purpose because that's what attorneys do, I look at them like the scum of the earth.

 

As far as the statute of limitations and all of the requirements stuff, that's really no big deal. You can say that you're still affected as of today and it was because of the doctor from years ago, which would still put you in the statute of limitations because you're currently dealing with it. So the whole two and three year thing is pretty much irrelevant. Like you could say you have PTSD today and it was because of Joe Blow from 5 years ago, but that would still be okay to sue for because you're currently dealing with it and it's current. The statute of limitation stuff would be for if a doctor gave you a physical Scar from 5 years ago, that would have expired.

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I forgot to mention, even if you signed a paper saying that it was addictive, that wouldn't matter in court. You could still sue them regardless, because you would be suing for malpractice or damages, which would be completely different than addiction, and you can't sue somebody for addiction in the first place because it's not a court code.

 

And as for the reasons you would be suing a psychiatrist in the first place, most likely it would have to be Federal court. Federal court is the court that deals with malpractice and it's listed as a code for the court. I saw it when I was filling out my complaint, there were some other options as well like malpractice and negligence related stuff. There's human rights type of issues on the federal complaints as well, you would have to look through it and see what I'm talking about for yourself, there's quite a few options.

 

State Court would be for state issues listed Within the state laws. I'm sure there's also some stuff in the state courts that would hold up against psychiatry, but again you would have to prove that it was the psychiatrist to blame, which is next to Impossible just due to the fact the way that Psychiatry is set up basically. Because there's no physical activity, there's no physical evidence. Everything in Psychiatry is subjective, and you can't use subjective evidence at court.

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I forgot to mention, even if you signed a paper saying that it was addictive, that wouldn't matter in court. You could still sue them regardless, because you would be suing for malpractice or damages, which would be completely different than addiction, and you can't sue somebody for addiction in the first place because it's not a court code.

 

And as for the reasons you would be suing a psychiatrist in the first place, most likely it would have to be Federal court. Federal court is the court that deals with malpractice and it's listed as a code for the court. I saw it when I was filling out my complaint, there were some other options as well like malpractice and negligence related stuff. There's human rights type of issues on the federal complaints as well, you would have to look through it and see what I'm talking about for yourself, there's quite a few options.

 

State Court would be for state issues listed Within the state laws. I'm sure there's also some stuff in the state courts that would hold up against psychiatry, but again you would have to prove that it was the psychiatrist to blame, which is next to Impossible just due to the fact the way that Psychiatry is set up basically. Because there's no physical activity, there's no physical evidence. Everything in Psychiatry is subjective, and you can't use subjective evidence at court.

 

Hey again, Justin...

 

I didn't know this. I thought maybe it was for liability or something.

 

The paper I recall signing had the smallest print, and was like fine details.

 

Been so long ago, I barely recall it. But yeah, she had me to sign a paper.

 

Should've just walked out.

 

What a mistake it all was.

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I agree, it was definitely a mistake for almost everyone on this website to take benzos.

 

But yeah, just because you signed something doesn't mean you give away your civil rights. Like when you buy a car and you sign some papers saying that the automobile manufacturer isn't liable for injuries, it doesn't mean that they're not liable. Anybody can put anything on paper, doesn't mean that you have to give up your rights for it. If anything, it just might be debatable evidence in court, but most likely isn't going to have much of an impact on the fact that you got injured and still have a case.

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