This Makes Me Sick

Lawyer Chafes At Complaining Clients

Our old friend Dr. Flea, who has contributed some witty stuff here and here, has an update of being deposed in a med-mal suit: "This was 'a good deposition' for me. The mother essentially admitted that her child is not injured. How her lawyer permitted her to do so is curious to say the least, but I suppose I shouldn't care."

Not much else of note, but a comment on Flea's blog caused us to sit up straight. The writer, allegedly a lawyer, chimed in on his lawsuit-happy clients:

"I haven't practised plaintiff personal injury law since January when I decided to take a break ....  I was sitting through appointment after appointment where my clients would tell me how their pissy little soft tissue neck/back injury had ruined their life when my neck/back is continuously sore from having to carry my son around and fight his tone. I actually listened to one woman in her mid 40's go on for more than an hour about how her life was over because she could no longer wear halternecks. For god sakes woman, maybe God is trying to tell you that you shouldn't be wearing them anymore."

Not exactly the clear command of English we would hope for in a lawyer. And aren't they paying his bills? Or maybe he has found clarity amongst the madness.

Have something to say? Calling all fed up regular folks, doctors, lawyers, nurses — Write us, here.

Lawyer Ordered to Pay Doctor

A physician owned and governed medical professional liability insurance company in Florida checked the mail and found a law firm check. It's about time. Back in August 2005, a Broward County Circuit judge ruled in favor of a doc insured by the group, dismissing a medical malpractice claim and ordering the plaintiff's attorney to pay the defense attorney's fees and costs. Adios, frivolous lawsuit. Read [Business Wire]

Doc and Hospital Reunion: OB/GYN Dr. Donovan Dietrick had run his won practice since 1984. But by 2004 he was dropping $130,000 bill for med mal insurance. And his income wasn't rising . The payments he typically received from health insurers for delivering a baby had declined from around $2,300 in the early 1990s to around $2,000 last year. So, he closed up shop, joined a hospital and stopped delivering babies. Read [Baltimore Business Journal]

The Big Payback

Dr. Frank Bonnarens was sued for malpractice four times and each of the lawsuits were dismissed. So after a fifth suit was filed and later dropped, the Louisville orthopedic surgeon fought back‑-filing his own suit against the moonlighting state government attorney who had sued him in the fifth case. The jury recently found that attorney Walter Bedford Jr. sued Bonnarens for the sole purpose of harassing him into paying a settlement. Classy. Read [The Courier Journal]

Medical School for Lawyers

Ah, a romance born in the college lecture hall. Well, not exactly. But docs are giving malpractice lawyers one-day sessions on the physiology, diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions frequently encountered by trial attorneys. Deeper med knowledge=fewer frivolous lawsuits? Read [UPI]

Senate Pleas, Docs Return and A Liability IPO

Medical Liability Linkage
1) The gloves of the perfectly parted-haired senators are off. In light of the Senate shooting down med-mal caps—the GOP controls the action by the way— Sen. Rick Santorum, R-PA, keeps up the pleas. “Do we serve the patients and the doctors who wish to help them or do we serve the trial lawyers? By preventing debate and an up-or-down vote on these bills Monday evening, the Senate Democrats made their choice abundantly clear.” Read [The Hill]

2) Mississippi Gov. Haley R. Barbour says doctors are coming back to the state because the state’s principal medical liability carrier cut rates 5 percent and gave a 10 percent rebate. Interesting. Read [The Neshoba Democrat]

3) About 40 percent of the medical malpractice cases filed in the United States are groundless, according to a new Harvard analysis. How do you come to such a conclusion, you might ask? Researchers reviewed 1,452 malpractice claims randomly selected from five insurance companies. The cases were resolved between 1984 and 2004. The claims resulted in a combined $449 million in verdicts and settlements. Many of the lawsuits contained no evidence that a medical error was committed or that the patient suffered any injury. The majority of those cases were dismissed without payout. Read [Mercury News]

4) When it rains…. An eye surgeon in Tucson, Arizona convicted of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder now is facing several medical malpractice lawsuits. Read [KPHO]

5) Sound investment? There’s a coming IPO of Darwin Professional Underwriters—they specialize in liability insurance for docs and hospitals. Some 5,217,391 common shares for about $15 are up for grabs. Business must be good. Hedge your bets people. Read [Hartford Courant]