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Woes of an Ex-Doctor

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Wednesday, May 1st, 2013

This is a tale of woe from Staunton, Virginia. (NewsLeader.com) Charles K. Weisman had his medical license suspended after the Board of Medicine determined that he had smoked marijuana at his practice, kept alcohol in his office, prescribed testosterone to himself, swore at patients and kept faulty records. I know, you almost have to read that sentence a second time to take it all in.

Like a bad ad, imagine hearing the voice that says, “But wait, there’s more”. Weisman was also accused of misdemeanor sexual assault against two female employees. Those charges were later amended to simple assault and then ultimately dropped. Then, in his continuing events of life; in 2009, a Staunton store owner accused Weisman of trespassing after the two men argued over storage space. (2009)

I know you’d rather hear that exciting voice screaming, “set it…and forget it”. Instead, let’s stay with the same theme…”But wait, there’s more”. In 2011, a judge found Weisman not guilty after Weisman was initially charged on a misdemeanor charge of obtaining money by false pretenses, after he was accused of giving a man a foot rub but trying to charge him for an X-ray at his Day Star Medical Center.

A month later, his girlfriend brought an assault and battery charge against him,; Ultimately, that was taken under advisement and dismissed.

Now, what is going on in his life?… Yes, there is more.

This past Tuesday, he was found to be operating a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning business without a license, and was convicted on a misdemeanor charge of violating Virginia’s Profession and Occupation act.

So, I guess we are all caught up. Maybe we should check in on him in a couple of weeks!

And for pic o’ day, I thought I would stay in a bit of the theme:

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Categories : Current Affairs, General Law, Medical Malpractice

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Doctors and a Dishwasher

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Monday, April 8th, 2013

Most medical doctors take the Hippocratic Oath. It is believed to have been written by Hippocrates who is often regarded as the father of western medicine. It requires a doctor to swear or sign a document to uphold certain ethical standards. The oath includes the following, “I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients, according to my ability and my judgment, and never do harm to anyone”. The last part comes from a latin term that literally means “first, do no harm“.

That introduction takes us to Laurence Hammock at Roanoake.com, who wrote the following story about two Virginia doctors. I will let you decide whether their conduct fits within the oath. Here is a portion of his story:

“The Virginia Board of Medicine has fined two Salem physicians $1,000 each for using a dishwasher to clean medical instruments.

Dr. John Harding and Dr. Christopher Keeley, both gynecologists affiliated with LewisGale Physicians, were named in orders recently filed by the board.After a hearing last month, the board found that Harding and Keeley improperly disinfected medical instruments, including speculums used for gynecological examinations, by cleaning them in a dishwasher at their practice.

John Jessee, a Roanoke attorney who represented the two doctors, said there was no evidence that any patients were harmed as a result of the practice. However, the doctors’ office began using an autoclave, which disinfects medical instruments at much higher temperatures than produced by a dishwasher, after a LewisGale director of quality expressed concerns about the practice in July 2011, according to the board’s order.

Harding and Keeley told state regulators they believed using a dishwasher was an acceptable practice that presented no risks to patients. Speculums are not required to be sterilized in the way a scalpel is before surgery, they argued. Nonetheless, a March 19 finding from the Board of Medicine, made public this week, ordered the doctors to pay fines of $1,000 within the next 60 days’.

One final note on medicine. This is from Katie Couric’s blog on “Medical Mistakes”. She recites the unfortunate statistic with support on preventing what is currently occurring.

“Did you know that more than 200,000 people die every year because of avoidable mistakes in operating rooms, hospitals and doctors’ offices? Or that thousands more live with the consequences of life-changing medical errors? Think this could never happen to you? Think again because it can, and it did happen to Carolyn and Sean Savage from Sylvania, Ohio.” (click on the blog cite to read about this family)

Personally, I don’t want my blog to be an attack on doctors because I have and still do rely on good medical care. However, I think that it is also necessary to be vigilant and be personally responsible.

For pic o’ day, first I thought that I would revert back to Eli Manning

I can’t help it, that picture just makes me laugh. Then, when I thought about it, I realized that even the Happy Meal is not the same.

Finally,

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Categories : Current Affairs, Defective Products, Medical Malpractice

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Warren Buffett on Geico Profits

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Sunday, March 3rd, 2013

USA Today provided some insight on Warren Buffet’s comments last week, after he delivered his letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. We learned that Buffett was not satisfied with the stock return for the year. He also chided CEO’s of major corporations for failing to be aggressive.

When he delivers his yearly “address”, I am always interested to see any portion of his discussion regarding Geico, which is part of the Berkshire Hathaway holdings.

This is the pertinent part from his letter:

” The insurance business. Berkshire’s insurance operations “shot the lights out last year,” Buffett wrote. The business generated $73 billion of “free money” for the company to invest. “This is truly having your cake and eating it too,” he wrote. “When I count my blessing, I count GEICO twice.”

What Buffet is saying is that Geico is helping them buy other businesses like Heinz Ketchup. I have no issue with profits for business. I understand that businesses create jobs and that’s what keeps the wheels turning. It’s the same at our law firm.

What we can really gather from Warren Buffett is the application of why insurance companies collect premiums… to make a profit. It’s not to pass on profits by charging less to their insureds. This is contrary to silly tort reformer arguments for caps.

In Texas, all the talk was that they needed a malpractice cap of 250K. By doing so, doctors would be charged less for premiums. Now, almost 10 years later, Texas doctors are not getting any reductions (SEE HERE) but the caps remain. All that means is that those responsible for causing injury are passing the expense on to everyone else.

One final thought on the excitement caused by insurance profits. In Virginia, we still have a punishment damage (punitive) cap of $350,000. What that means is that when profits are in the billions, what kind of punishment does that really amount to. Punitive damages are meant to protect the citizens that are effected by the conduct. Unfortunately, businesses are protected instead.

At least Buffett is honest about why. One of my hopes is to have a judge force him to come to Virginia for a deposition to explain the way that Geico handles their claims evaluations in Virginia. I believe that they are needlessly asserting frivolous defenses and clogging the Court system. Maybe his deposition someday soon. I can hope… can’t I?

If you think I am being tough on Geico; then yes… I am. They make me shake my head. No wonder their new mascot is a pig. It seems apropo to me.

This Pic o’ day “note” reminded me of how I believe that insurance companies accept responsibility.

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Categories : Insurance Law, Legislation and Politics, Medical Malpractice

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Protecting Wrongdoers and Punitive Damages

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Sunday, November 4th, 2012

After a good weekend plus a Colts win, I usually stay away from negative. This time, I am getting something off my chest!

At the end of October, a group of distinguished lawyers, judges and law professors got together at the Homestead to discuss issues in the law. The group meeting is called the Boyd-Graves Conference.

The background for the formation of this group is best said on it’s website: ”The Boyd-Graves Conference was created by the late Thomas V. Monahan, a former VBA president, who believed that civil practice in Virginia would be improved if lawyers with different types of practices, from all regions of the state, would meet and attempt to reach consensus about ways to improve the law.” It was formed in 1978 and has been very helpful in addressing question and needs of law and practice.

This October meeting did make several significant recommendations. Then, the issue of Virginia’s laws regarding punitive damages immediately ran into a group obstacle.

Right now, Virginia has a state cap of punitive damages in the amount of $350,000. That means that if an entity, company or individual is found by a jury to have done or committed an act that is “willful and wanton”, which is worse than negligence. There are several legal terms for it, but basically it is willful and egregious conduct. It basically almost has to be intentional or just a disregard of doing what is right. I probably am not even describing the standard strict enough.

Punitive damages are meant to punish the defendant; deter such future conduct by that defendant as well as others in the future; and in doing so, protect the citizens of the state where the punitive damages are part of a verdict.

I know I am getting too much legal stuff… but here comes the meat of my blog.

The cap of $350,000 was enacted in 1988. If adjusted for inflation, the cap would now be approximately $677,000 without any real increase. Still, Boyd-Graves rejected any proposal to eliminate the cap or even raise it to a mere increase of $500,000.

When you hear the term a ”business-friendly” state, you assume that it is helpful to attract businesses to Virginia. In fact, it probably does. However, I really wonder if anyone really finds out what the state caps on punitive damages are, before relocating to that state. If they do, I don’t think that is really the kind of business that we should want to open up here. Instead, I would think that they are mainly looking for tax incentives.

I could get stirred up more about this. A business that generates billions in revenue can create a product that they know will kill Virginia citizens. Then, they know that they are only going to be punished in an amount of 350K maximum. It can be something added to their projected balance sheet.

In past lawsuits, there have been many memos uncovered that showed businesses considering the expense of injury versus profit. Profitability… that doesn’t mean protection for Virginia citizens. To me, I don’t think that a business should be able to weigh its conduct against what the margin of expense per violation or lawsuit in punitive might be. Punishment should really be punishment. For most big businesses, 350K has no meaningful message. I just thought that this is topical, with an election on Tuesday.

For pic o’ day, I am posting one of my Dad on a recent vacation. It makes me smile. (Sorry Dad!!!!!)

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Categories : Current Affairs, General Law, Insurance Law, Legislation and Politics, Medical Malpractice, Nursing Home Negligence, Political, Trip and Fall, Truck Accident

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Jury Selection and Colds

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Sunday, October 7th, 2012

Last week I was working in the South Carolina office. When I am home, I get up early and work out in an upstairs room at my house. I usually head to a workout room at motels, when I am on the road.

This time, I got up early and heard the patter of rain against my motel window. Somehow, I came up with the idea that it would be fun to walk in downtown Greenville, with an umbrella. Well, the temperature was perfect and I truly enjoyed my walk. When I got back to the motel lobby, I was basically dry. Apparently, not dry enough.

When I got home, I was already fighting the early stages of a cold. I got the Cold EEZE lozenges out and thought I could battle it. At home and at work, I was basically asked if I was out of my mind for walking in the rain. My answer… “Yes, yes I was”, as I worked on my lozenges. No one had sympathy for my cold battling.

With juries in trial, sometimes that thappens in how the evidence is viewed. Psychologist call it defensive attribution bias or availability bias as two of the viewpoints. It doesn’t matter that the defendant was the cause of the crash.

A defensive attribution bias causes a juror to say, “I would have been able to avoid that car cutting in front of me” or “I would have gone to seek a second or third medical opinion, I would not be in the same position as the plaintiff”. That juror places blame on the plaintiff and forgets about the conduct of the defendant.

The availability bias also attacks the plaintiff. Psychologists say that people are more ready to criticize those that they are more familiar with, or if they potentially share the same life experiences as the plaintiff. Again, this is an overlap in believing that they would have acted differently. Specifically, they take the information already available to them like taking medication, going to the doctor or how they drive a car, and they put extra burdens on the plaintiff. No matter that the defendant acted inappropriately!

The Judge instructs jurors to only consider the evidence. That doesn’t mean that they have to leave their common sense outside the Courtroom, but it does mean that they are not allowed to ignore evidence, just because they think that they could have avoided the crash. Or, that they excuse the defendant because the plaintiff didn’t act the way that the juror would have acted. Again saying, “That wouldn’t have happened to me”.

Yes, I probably thought I could avoid getting a cold. I guess I did leave my common sense in the motel room.

For pic o’ day… I respect creativity:

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Categories : Auto Accidents, General Law, Insurance Law, Medical Malpractice, Nursing Home Negligence, Science, Truck Accident

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Braces and Dental Malpractice

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Tuesday, August 28th, 2012

There are some tooth facts that we just all know. Here’s a quick list off the top of my head: Don’t gorge yourself on Halloween candy and expect to have a good dental check; Don’t eat caramel and candy apples if you have capped front teeth; Don’t carry dentures in your back pocket.

On the other hand, sometimes you should be able to depend on your dentist for wisdom and not just caring for your wisdom teeth. (I know, I shouldn’t go down the tooth humor path).

Most of the time, I really have no interest in even discussing malpractice. In my own life, I have had such great experiences with the medical profession. However, there have been some dental cases that have simply ticked me off.

That’s how I felt when I read the UPI story about the Oregon dentist who caused someone permanent injury. Brad Chvatal provided orthodontic care to Devin Best for most of his childhood years. That included braces.

Normally, braces are to be worn for a period of 1 to 3 years. For some reason, this dentist kept him in braces for 11 years. As a result, Best suffered injuries to his gums, mouth and teeth.

For me, I guess that I am blogging on it to send this story just a little farther on the Internet. True dental malpractice. A kid that depended on his dentist and was hurt by it.

In the article, the President of the American Association of Orthodontists was quoted as saying that he “could not think of an instance” where someone would ever need to wear braces for 11 years. The reporter in the article attempted to get some explanation from the dentist about his conduct. All he would say was that the situation “was very complicated”.

For pic o’ day, I decided that I wasn’t going to post anything else dental. Instead, I thought I would focus on something more positive. How about that everyone should exercise!

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Categories : Current Affairs, General Blog Discussion, Medical Malpractice

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The Facekini Jury

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Tuesday, August 21st, 2012

I know that this is going to be one of those blogs where you say, “Joel, where are you going with this?” I started to blog on shadow juries and then I saw a story and picture on this amazing clothing accessory that is sweeping China.

If you think about it, this really is quite the sun protection. That’s why they call it the “Facekini”. In China, tans are frowned upon; although that seems contrary to this picture. It looks like there is a lot of tanning going on in the background… but I digress.

Somehow, this story distracted me from a discussion of shadow juries, because it’s kinda like being in the shadows on the beach, isn’t it? OK, maybe not so much. I just wanted to post that picture for the blog. It’s just fascinating to me.

As to shadow juries, the “Virginia Lawyers Weekly’ just reported on a medical negligence case that took place in Pennsylvania. After the jury had been picked, 12 others who had similar characteristics to the 12 jurors already seated, filed into the same courtroom to listen to the same evidence.

The twelve “spectators” listened just like the real jury. They even took breaks at the same time. They did not know who had hired them to sit in the trial. At the end of each day, a jury consultant would discuss what they had observed during trial that day. Based on the feedback, the plaintiff’s lawyer would refocus questioning the next day, and create graphics to better highlight specific evidence.

The lawyer also wanted some input on whether he should be considering settlement offers from the defense. As the trial progressed, he became more convinced of how the real jury was perceiving the evidence. When the verdict was finally returned at the conclusion of the trial, the jury came back with an amount of $78.5 million.

Before that verdict was returned, the shadow jury had also deliberated. They awarded more than the actual jury. The plaintiff’s lawyer had no real explanation for that; except to conclude that ultimately, the shadow jury knew that they were not truly returning a verdict. As he said, “maybe they felt that they were playing with monopoly money”.

For pic 0′ day, just like my desire to post “Facekini”, I’ve been wanting to post “Velcro Cat”. I never have really understood the whole thing of someone putting on a Velcro suit and jumping into a wall. But Velcro Cat… now that just makes me laugh!

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Categories : Current Affairs, Medical Malpractice

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KKK Stomach Letters Lawsuit

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Monday, July 23rd, 2012

The LA Times is reporting that a South Dakota man has filed suit against his doctor for carving the initials “KKK” into his stomach during open heart surgery. When I saw the story, I first wondered if it was a story, like one where people claim to see someone from the Bible… on a Big Mac bun… or something like that. (or maybe an Abe Lincoln Fig Newton ?)

A 69-year-old Native American from South Dakota is serious. Vern Traversie is blind, but his friends tell him that his stomach now advertises an insulting racial slur and the surgeon did it intentionally.

In May, hundreds attended a rally in support of Traversie, saying that his story is an example of the racism that Native Americans experience in South Dakota.

Local hospital officials and the police claim that they have investigated the allegations and cannot make out anything out, on his stomach. All they see are scars from the double-bypass surgery.

Do you remember going to the mall or seeing those kiosks where they had pictures that had hidden pictures in them? You could stare and stare at picture. Some people could see a picture in the picture; others would just stare and give up.

In this lawsuit, I wonder if the jury will feel like that. Some might see KKK letters and others might just see surgical scars. Still, others might just see something that looks like letters. Of course, there is no explanation for letters on the stomach either. I wonder if anyone will see King Henry VIII? I know… this lawsuit took me over the blog edge!

Maybe, it’s just how you look at things:

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Categories : Current Affairs, Medical Malpractice, Political

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Lombardi’s “This is a Football”

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Sunday, June 24th, 2012

Vince Lombardi is remembered as the greatest NFL football coach. In fact, the Championship Super Bowl trophy is named the “Vince Lombardi Trophy”.

Lombardi was also known as a great motivator. His speech “What it Takes to be Number One” is used in sports and in business. It lists principles for the athletic field and the field of life.

Lombardi was known for his toughness. In fact, rookies and veterans alike were known to fear him. To start out every season, he would gather the players around for the first meeting of preseason. There, he would give his famous “This is a Football” speech. A summary of it below comes from Bob Kimbrell’s “Book on Management”.

“All the players knew that at the first team meeting, the legendary coach would waste no time getting straight to the point. Many of the men, half Lombardi’s age and twice his size, were openly fearful, dreading the encounter.

The coach did not disappoint them, and, in fact, delivered his message in one of the great one-liners of all time.

Football in hand, the great coach walked to the front of the room, took several seconds to look over the assemblage in silence, held out the pigskin in front of him, and said, “Gentlemen, this is a football.”

The story goes that Lombardi stressed fundamentals. After holding up the football as though they had never seen one and describing its importance; He would then take the team out and show them the field. He’d point out the out-of-bounds lines and the end zones. Then, he would remind the players that the football is to go across the end zone line.

Every Monday, the lawyers at the firm get together; and we discuss the fundamentals of handling a case. Every meeting, I learn something.

The courtroom is where the excitement occurs. But, the details of the case come together at the office. Early in the process, you even begin to put your jury instructions together, as the law of the case.

Sometimes, it’s just a good reminder to go through the checklist of the proof of the case; the medical bills and how you are going to deal with the defenses. In those instances of going over the details, it almost feels like Lombardi is growling, “Gentlemen, this is a football”.

For pic o’ day, I found a picture where someone forgot to focus on the details:

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Categories : Auto Accidents, General Law, Insurance Law, Medical Malpractice, Nursing Home Negligence, The Human Spirit, Truck Accident

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Others in Focus

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Sunday, May 6th, 2012

William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli were vocal political adversaries in Great Britain. From 1874-1880, Disraeli was Prime Minister. He replaced Gladstone in 1874; and then Gladstone replaced him in 1880. So, the parallels of their lives were studied as was their personalities.

One lady had the opportunity to dine with both of them during a week leading up to election in 1867. When the reporter asked her to give her opinion of the two statesmen, she replied, “When I left the dining room after sitting next to Mr. Gladstone, I thought he was the cleverest man in England. But after sitting next to Mr. Disraeli, I thought I was the cleverest woman in England.”

I subscribe to a blog written by lawyer Don Keenan. He recently wrote about a trial that he had, when he was a “puppy lawyer”. It was a case involving some complex medicine and records. Keenan said that the defense lawyer was able to do his cross examination of the doctors without notes. He would even reference specific pages of “colloaborative studies”. The jury seemed mesmerized by the defense lawyer’s knowledge and delivery.

At the end of the case, the jury came back with a significant verdict for Keenan’s client. When the jury was dismissed, Keenan said that he had some expectation that they would come over to his table and congratulate him, just like he had seen in the movies.

Instead, the jury went right over to the defense lawyer and asked what they described as the question on all of their minds, “Tell us, you are a doctor as well as a lawyer, aren’t you?” Then, they continued to tell that defense lawyer just how impressed they were with him.

Finally, one of the jurors came over to Keenan. They told him that while they were impressed with the other lawyer that they really couldn’t understand much about what he was talking about. It made Keenan realize what was really important in the Courtroom.

Both of these stories are good reminders. Among other lessons, life really isn’t about trying to impress others with your own knowledge and skills; a real skill is to focus on what others want.

For pic o’ day I went cartoon. It makes me laugh. It seems like it really could happen:

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Categories : General Law, Medical Malpractice, Misc.

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Archive for Medical Malpractice

Woes of an Ex-Doctor

Doctors and a Dishwasher

Warren Buffett on Geico Profits

Protecting Wrongdoers and Punitive Damages

Jury Selection and Colds

Braces and Dental Malpractice

The Facekini Jury

KKK Stomach Letters Lawsuit

Lombardi’s “This is a Football”

Others in Focus

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