Or he could take his nice suit and chuck himself into a small island's volcano (The Big Woo?) on behalf of the orange-soda-drinking islanders, like the title character in <i>Joe vs. the Volcano</i>.

omG! He is actually living the script of a 1980s B movie. Wow.

Isn't he officially a candidate for mental health treatment now? You're gonna die != go nuts with your money. Sheesh. The Americanization of the Western world continues.

He admits that it's his own fault he has no money left. No way could he win that court case. Right?

Ye Gods, one can hope.

Certainly it would seem ridiculous for the hospital/doctors to have to pay for Mr. Brandrick's spending spree. The hospital cannot be liable for all of the specific actions Mr. B took because of their incorrect diagnosis. If that were the case the hospital might feasibly be liable for every improper action and cost Mr. B incurred after his diagnosis. Theoretically he could blame every bad action and decision on the improper diagnosis - lost my wallet in March, it was the hospital's fault - forgot my anniversary, it was the hospital's fault etc.

The claims of Mr. B and the way the Globe frames the story does make the suit seem ridiculous. However, it does seem like a suit for some type of damages on the basis of such an erroneous diagnosis would not be totally unreasonable.

I like the fact that the hospital maintains in the last para that "The hospital has said that while it sympathizes with Mr. Brandrick, a review of his case showed no different diagnosis would have been made."

The old, "we were wrong then and we'd be just as wrong now" defence.

There is a claim called "wrongful life" in which misdiagnoses related to severely disabled children are missed. I understand that the claim is not for general damages but only the extra costs of special needs of the child. Those costs are foreseeable. If the authors of <i>Joe vs. the Volcano</i> could foresee the reactions, should not the hospital?

he was living large for a year, enjoying himself like it was his last day on earth, having fun, everything right on edge. maybe he should pay the hospital.