Another one bites the dust...

[Moses]

A young and talented physician (lets call her Dr. Smith) just announced her retirement after 10 short years in practice.

A pregnant patient (not hers) had a very complicated delivery with a bad outcome. During the legal hailstorm they call "discovery" it was found that 12 weeks prior to the patients delivery, she had received telephone advice from Dr. Smith while Dr. Smith was on call for the patients vacationing doctor. No one could reasonably connect Dr. Smiths telephone advice to the events of the patients delivery 12 weeks later, but in the interest of "casting a wide net". Dr. Smith was named in the lawsuit that followed.

Dr. Smith's attorney submitted letters explaining that Dr. Smith had no contact with the patient at any time except for one brief phone call 12 weeks before delivery and could not reasonably have any liability in the case. The plaintiffs attorney refused to dismiss Dr. Smith from the lawsuit, so she was named with 3 other doctors and the hospital.

Dr. Smith has a small private practice. She is a meticulous physician and has the respect of the entire medical community. Her overhead costs are high, so she makes a very modest income.

Because of the lawsuit (her first) her malpractice insurance company cancelled her "good doctor" discount. Cost; $40,000/year. Dr. Smith lost several weeks in the office, paying her staff, office rent and other physicians to cover her practice while she was unavailable. Dr. Smith had to go to the bank to get a loan to cover her office overhead.

At trial, the judge pressured the plaintiffs attorney to dismiss Dr. Smith from the lawsuit. Finally, he did. Two weeks later, Dr. Smith announced her resignation and quit practicing medicine.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

I think you guys need to all go on strike...do it now while I'm not sick or anything.

[island911]

blue

Yeah, Moses, we need tort reform. We also need Doctors to work beyond reproach.

Maybe if more mediocre Doctors were to step down (not to imply "Dr Smith " was such) fewer lawers would see a huge target in the medical community.

As it is, John Q Public is exposed to mistakes and indifference coming from a good percentage of Doc's. While John Q Public isn't likely to push for legal damages, they won't be thinking 'give the doc the benifit of the doubt" . . when serving on a jury. Lawyers know this. . .and exploit this.

[widebody911]

One of the reforms this country needs is the lottery I mean tort system.

The other is the way bribes I mean campaign finance works.

Either way, follow the money. Having Dr Smith named as a defendant, the potential award kitty was bigger.

[304065]

ONE med-mal claim and she throws it in? She went through undergrad, med school, residency and possibly a fellowship and then practiced for 10 years and after one suit she hangs it up? Did she have other work-life issues that were a factor?

Her insurance co. revoked her discount simply because she got sued? I'm not sure that that's 'bad faith' strictly defined but a pretty lousy thing for the insurance company to do.

You say she was "on call" for one of the other docs in her practice group.

You probably don't want to hear this, but YOU stepped up with the original post, so here goes: the question of whether anyone could reasonably connect her advice to the delivery is one for the jury to decide.

It's common practice in the securities industry for a client to agree to arbitration when they open an account. One of the arbitrators is always someone with securities experience. Maybe we need to go that way in the medical profession, to preserve the adverserial system, while injecting a little industry knowledge into the process.

I wouldn't mind seeing "loser pays," either. Contrary to what most people think, med-mal cases aren't costless to file, experts aren't free, discovery and lawyers time isn't for nothing. The fact that there's a contingent fee structure in place has nothing to do with it: by the time the case gets to trial, tens of thousands have been invested in the case, and a whole bunch are "no-causes." The trouble is that an indigent plaintiff doesn't have the money to risk, whether his or her claim is legitimate or not.

Sorry to hear about your colleague Dr. Smith. All the recent stats show the number of docs constricting in the US, and right or wrong, med-mal cases are a big part of it.

[Neilk]

Perhaps the answer is stricter physician licensing as well as tort reform. I heard a stat on NPR that 10% of the doctors are responsible to 90% of the malpractice lawsuits. I don't know if these doctors are poor doctors or in high risk fields (kind of a problem with statistics). But if you can get rid of the legitimately bad doctors and limit ridiculous lawsuit, we might get somewhere.

But that story is sick. There have been numerous new stories in North Texas about obstetricians quitting because of exhorbitant insurance costs.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally posted by Neilk
But that story is sick. There have been numerous new stories in North Texas about obstetricians quitting because of exhorbitant insurance costs.

And we can all thank Sen. John Edwards for helping to facilitate that process!

[vash]

definately in favor of tort reform. put a cap on the lawsuits.

[Moses]

Originally posted by john_cramer
ONE med-mal claim and she throws it in? She went through undergrad, med school, residency and possibly a fellowship and then practiced for 10 years and after one suit she hangs it up? Did she have other work-life issues that were a factor?

When Bay Area obstetricians work for the local hospital, the hourly wage is $48/hr. Six weeks lost income. $30,000 overhead. $40,000 annual premium increase.

She quit because she was badly injured financially and heartbroken.

Why must Dr. Smith bear the cost of this "fishing expedition"?

[vash]

so if you work for a major hospital, the malpractice insurance still comes out of your own pocket? no umbrella policy covering everything in the hospital?

[Moses]

Originally posted by vash
so if you work for a major hospital, the malpractice insurance still comes out of your own pocket? no umbrella policy covering everything in the hospital?

Not usually. Typically docs are hired as independant contractors. The vast majority of docs in private practice receive no payment at all from hospitals. In fact it is illegal for a hospital to pay private practice physicians.

[dd74]

Horrible story.

I'm at the point where my lawyer is also my doctor.

[Halm]

Originally posted by Moses
When Bay Area obstetricians work for the local hospital, the hourly wage is $48/hr.

I just ran the math: A Bay Area OB make only $100K / year? I admit it has been 10 years since I got out of the medical device industry, but that just doesn't sound right. Sure about the income?

That said, I completely agree that she should not have to bear the cost of the "fishing expidition". As others have said, we need tort reform.

[vash]

moses, any idea what she is going to do? completely retire?

[Dantilla]

Last year, there were four OB/GYNs in my relatively small town.

This year, there is one.


The good Doctor is not alone.

[84porsche]

Sorry about that - its not good when a doctor is forced to retire. Some of these stupid lawsuits need to be thrown out. If attorneys keep suing doctors they will have no one to help when they get sick. Vicious Circle.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

We need tort reform, yes. We also need insurance reform. Across the board. And finally we need medical board reform. What kind of a world is it where those "10%" of doctors can repeatedly make the same mistakes and still be allowed to practice??

[smoak]

I can speak from experience that professional malpractice insurance has gotten so out of hand it is almost unfathomable. I am an attorney and my partner and I have a small law firm that specializes in the defense of catastrophic injury (death, brain damage, dismemberment etc.) cases for insurance companies and corporations. Two years ago we were defending a medium size company. Long story short, company's truck in a bad accident. Company does not want to settle claim for kind of money being asked for (10-12 million) because they don't believe they did anything wrong (they were right, they really didn't). Anyway, case comes to my partner. Case goes to trial and we loose. Jury comes back 16 million dollars (no punitive damages). We, of course, want to appeal, but company does not want to pay large premium for a bond (you have to buy a bond to cover the damages when you appeal a money judgment) and wants to negotiate a settlement. They do so without us for 6 million. Guess what, 6 months later we get a letter from a lawyer in Chicago, saying we screwed up, we didn't do this, do that, etc. My partner spent hundreds of hours preparing the case, I spent several hundred doing the same. We just lost plain and simple. The jury HATED our clients. They seemed pompous and arrogant and never thougt we should settle case, DESPITE our advice to do so. They want us to turn the claim over to our insurance carrier. We do so. Our insurance carrier defends the case, writes an opinion that we did nothing wrong. Puts ZERO money to settle case with company. Case goes away for nothing. Guess what, the insurance carrier non-renews our 2,800 policy. And I have to go find us new insurance. Soon as I disclose a "claim" I am refused quotes from 4 companies. Finally get a quote, 31k/year. My partner been practicing 41 years, NEVER HAD A CLAIM EVER. That kind of money represents around 5% of our revenue a year. Completely nuts. We did nothign wrong, were the victims of a shakedown, all because of a bad result at trial and greedy company. Yes, there is a problem. And for professionals everywhere, it is coming to you soon. Who needs powerball when all you need is a good lawsuit! That fishing expedition costs me 28k a year now. Sure makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

[OFF SOAPBOX NOW] Breathe. Resume normal operation.

[mikes72t]

Someone may have already said this and if so I aplogize.

Doctor's are people too. Every person screws up, yes their screw ups have the potential to be more serious than say the guy who built my house.

No one can reasonably expect perfect advice and service from a human being. I can understand wanting the best and every Dr. I met wants to do so, but they are people too.

Drs. become drs. to help people not make lawyers and insurance agents rich.

The attitude of suing everybody here in the US just makes me sick. People can't be grateful for the things they have always lookingto get rich from someone else without any effort.

Just my 2cents

Mike

[nostatic]

Originally posted by vash
moses, any idea what she is going to do? completely retire?

go to law school.

Don't laugh...it is not uncommon. especially with all of the potential for use of their expertise in IP and tort cases.