JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A woman is suing Baptist Heath and a neurologist who worked there for fraud, claiming that the doctor lied about her having multiple sclerosis and that the hospital tried to cover up the misdiagnosis.
The lawsuit, filed Monday, follows a $2.5 million settlement Baptist made last year with the federal government after it found numerous misdiagnosis by two doctors for medically unnecessary services and drugs.
After hearing that the doctor who misdiagnosed her, Dr. Sean Orr, was one of two involved in the earlier suit and knowing she was treated for MS that she did not have, Jennifer Prevatt said she contacted attorney Seth Pajcic.
"I was devastated and I could not believe it," Prevatt said.
She said the doctor put her through painful and expensive treatments for the disease.
One of the drugs she was given cost $28,000.
"Like most of us, I put my trust in the doctors and their hospital and (had) no reason to doubt Dr. Orr when he said I had multiple sclerosis," Prevatt said. "It's still impossible for me to fathom that a doctor would tell you have a disease as terrible as multiple sclerosis when, in fact, there is no evidence that you do."
Prevatt said every test came back negative, but that Orr (pictured below) still insisted she had MS. That is why she and her attorney filed suit against both her and the hospital.
Pajcic said that while last year's settlement required the hospital to pay back the government, nothing was done for the patients.
"(Baptist) should have told them the truth about Dr. Orr," Pajcic said. "They should have apologized; they should have said, 'You may not have MS. You should not take these expensive and harmful medications. Please go get re-examined.' Instead, Baptist officials chose another course of action: to not tell their patients the truth about Dr. Orr, only compounding the fraud."
Pajcic said they filed the suit because of, "Patients like our client, Miss Prevatt, because of the hundreds or thousands of others just like her who, to this day have not been informed of Dr. Orr's fraud by Baptist officials."
Prevatt agrees.
"You need to go and get a second opinion if you are a patient of Dr Orr's," she said.
News4Jax learned that Orr's medical license was suspended last year. We tried to reach him for comment, but could not locate him.
Baptist Health issues this statement:
"We adamantly deny that there has been any cover-up or fraud committed by Baptist Health. There was never any admission of wrong-doing in the whistle-blower case referenced by the Pajcic law firm. Health care fraud is a serious matter and one that is not tolerated by Baptist Health.
"The fact is, this lawsuit has not yet been served on Baptist Health. Since learning of the case today, we have requested the plaintiff's written permission to share information related to the case, and when we receive it, we will be able to comment more specifically."