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Medical Forum / General / Vision / July 2005Should optometrists pay for their mistakes?
It took two optometrists 6 prescriptions before my eye glasses vision was good. I had the expensive Definity lenses made up by an optician not associated with either of these optometrists. These two optometrists made several mistakes including: 1) Giving me a glasses prescription while I was wearing contact lenses. 2) Assuming my prior prescription was close and only making minor adjustments to the old prescription. 3) Sending me to an eye doctor for a cateract check (the test only showed that I had a minor 5% cataract in my left eye). I finally ended up borrowing some corrective lenses from my optician and figured out how my prescription needed to be changed by looking at the license plates of cars in a parking lot. I needed a -1.5 diopter change in my left eye. Although I only paid these two optometrists about $75 each, their mistakes cost me over $600 in extra expenses (new lenses and the eye doctor's visit). I feel that these optometrists should reimburse me for the extra expenses that their mistakes cost me. However, the first optometrist wrote me a letter saying that he could not be responsible for fees that were not incurred in his office. What do you think I should do about this situation? I'm really mad about this! Any advice would be appreciated. I feel like filing a small claim against these two optometrists for their mistakes. Sorry to hear of your bad luck. You can get refunds, but don't expect anyone to pay for something you get somewhere else. You might prevail in small claims court, but you might not. Most suppliers will redo doctor changes at least one time. Glad that it sounds like someone finally got it right... w.stacy, o.d. > It took two optometrists 6 prescriptions before my eye glasses vision > was good. I had the expensive Definity lenses made up by an optician [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > about this! Any advice would be appreciated. I feel like filing a > small claim against these two optometrists for their mistakes. Yes, I did get 2 free redo's from the manufacturer. I had 5 redo's and had to pay $226 and $184 for the redone lenses. The O.D. only got it right because I came to him with the required correction. He apparently couldn't figure it out himself. That's pretty bad when the patient has to tell the doctor what to do!! > It took two optometrists 6 prescriptions before my eye glasses vision > was good. I had the expensive Definity lenses made up by an optician [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > about this! Any advice would be appreciated. I feel like filing a > small claim against these two optometrists for their mistakes. Unfortunately, some OD's are less than professional if you don't purchase your lenses from them. >Unfortunately, some OD's are less than professional if you don't purchase >your lenses from them. Ours are like that. They are very nice until after the examination when you look at their frames and can't find anything that fits or looks right.. so you ask for your prescription and take off down the high street whereupon they go all snotty and cool and you think "that's another optician I won't be able to get another eye exam from".. sigh. Dear Mark, The ODs MIGHT refund the $75, if they choose to do so. The $500 or so is a lost cause. You might be able to get some response from the B. B. B. But I think you are going to lose on collecting anything. Good luck, Otis > It took two optometrists 6 prescriptions before my eye glasses vision > was good. I had the expensive Definity lenses made up by an optician [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > about this! Any advice would be appreciated. I feel like filing a > small claim against these two optometrists for their mistakes. You can try small claims, but it is unlikely you will get anything other more than the $75 you paid the OD. The court will consider such questions as: Did you pay for a service? Did you receive the service? Was the service provided to the standard of care? Was the final prescription that worked substantially different from the ones provided? Was the OD negligent? (unlikely since you were referred for cataract assessment) Did you suffer harm ? (other than nuisance and cost of new lenses) The service you received was for an eye exam which includes a number of elements including refraction. If the other elements were ok, then only the part of the fee that pertained to refraction would be in question. It is very unlikely that any court will order more than refund of the exam fee. You will need to consult a lawyer and will likely need an expert witness to review the records of the doctors in question to see if the care was to standards and whether you have a case. If you file a complaint to the licensing body, they will investigate and you could use the results of their investigation instead of an expert witness. Be aware that the complaint process could well find that there were no errors on the optometrists' part. Outcome is not the only measure of standards as there can be many reasons why a particular refraction cannot be tolerated by the patient, only one of those reasons is OD error. You best bet is to politely inform the ODs that you were eventually able to get a pair of glasses that worked and request refund of the exam fee. Dr Judy The prescription for the left lens that worked was -7.00 -.75 165 (+2.25) and my original was -5.00 -.50 125 (+1.75). Isn't that a large difference? By licensing body, are you referring to the American Optometric Association? > The prescription for the left lens that worked was -7.00 -.75 165 > (+2.25) and my original was -5.00 -.50 125 (+1.75). Isn't that a large > difference? By licensing body, are you referring to the American > Optometric Association? No, the AOA is the professional association. The body that regulates optometrists in your State is the licensing body, here in Ontario it is the College of Optometrists of Ontario. Dr Judy > The prescription for the left lens that worked was -7.00 -.75 165 > (+2.25) and my original was -5.00 -.50 125 (+1.75). Isn't that a large > difference? By licensing body, are you referring to the American > Optometric Association? Wow! I can't ever remember even O.M.D.s being that far off! Wow. w.stacy, o.d. (and no, the AOA is not a licensing body; every state has its own "State Board of Optometry") When my OD transposed the digits for the Rx of one of my lenses on the Rx he faxed to my optician, he (my OD) did in fact reimburse the optician for the cost of the new lens. I was expecting a -725, so the -275 was quite a surprise... Not quite the same situation as you're in, however. +++++++++++++ Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET. This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%. Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account... It took two different optometrists six tries? It sounds like you might be a difficult-to-refract patient. There does exist a diagnosis code called "transient refractive change." Every optometrist has experience a patient whose refraction has fluctuated significantly. DrG Dear Friend, If a patient has "transient refractive change" of 2 diopters -- then he should be informed of this situation, so there is not surprises for him. When he understand this situation, he can understand and accept it -- if properly informed. Best, Otis As is typically the case, Otis does nothing except to throw gasoline on the fire. I'm sure there is much we do not know about this individual's situation. If the patient was indeed wearing contact lenses immediately prior to the refraction, the resulting prescription could have been significantly affected. It is quite usual for a patient to resort to eyeglasses immediately upon contact lens removal. Therefore, refractions are typically performed under those circumstances. I would wonder about the contact lenses, if they caused such a variable refraction. DrG > As is typically the case, Otis does nothing except to throw gasoline on > the fire. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > immediately prior to the refraction, the resulting prescription could > have been significantly affected. I assumed from what he wrote that the OP was actually wearing his lenses during the exam, which seemed extremely odd. I can't see my lenses when they're in, but I would assume that a professional would be able to. I left my contacts out for several days before my last exam. > It is quite usual for a patient to > resort to eyeglasses immediately upon contact lens removal. Therefore, > refractions are typically performed under those circumstances. > > I would wonder about the contact lenses, if they caused such a variable > refraction.  SignatureCheers, Bev =============================================== Last night I played a blank tape at full blast. The mime next door went nuts! Do you seriously think that two optometrists over-refracted this "OP" with his contact lenses in to derive an eyeglass prescription? That is absurd. I never once gave that a thought. DrG > Do you seriously think that two optometrists over-refracted this "OP" > with his contact lenses in to derive an eyeglass prescription? I thought it was only one. No, I didn't think it was a serious possibility, but SOMEBODY had to be at the bottom of his/her optometry class. > That is absurd. I never once gave that a thought. Nothing is so stupid that you can't find somebody who did it at least once if you try hard enough. SignatureCheers, Bev ========================================================== "The last thing you want is for somebody to commit suicide before executing them." -Gary Deland, former Utah director for corrections LOL! DrG > Do you seriously think that two optometrists over-refracted this "OP" > with his contact lenses in to derive an eyeglass prescription? > > That is absurd. I never once gave that a thought. > > DrG I just did an annual cl exam on a -1.00 d ou young lady whose last two visits had subjective refractions of -.75 d ou. Her over-autorefraction and phoropter over-refractions were -.25 d. I wrote out a spectacle rx of -1.00 based on this (wasn't rushed or "lazy"): just thought there was absolutely no need to do any further refractive testing. No, I don't do this often but there can be occasions like this one. frank > > As is typically the case, Otis does nothing except to throw gasoline on > > the fire. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > during the exam, which seemed extremely odd. I can't see my lenses when > they're in, but I would assume that a professional would be able to. I can see the edge of the contacts in my eyes looking in a mirror. It's not that hard to spot. I'm pretty sure I could tell if someone is wearing contacts if allowed to look from about 6 inches. > > > As is typically the case, Otis does nothing except to throw gasoline on > > > the fire. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > not that hard to spot. I'm pretty sure I could tell if someone is > wearing contacts if allowed to look from about 6 inches. If I could see that well I wouldn't need contacts! I just dug out the magnifying mirror and looked through 5.5D of reading glasses in bright sun. Couldn't see anything! I've taken pictures of my eyes and been able to see them, though. SignatureCheers, Bev ========================================================== "The last thing you want is for somebody to commit suicide before executing them." -Gary Deland, former Utah director for corrections |
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