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#1
03-22-2007, 10:22 PM
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And you, just like everyone else here, I do not know from Adam. I feel though that you simply made a mistake today, something said at an extremely inappropriate time. About a man who is one of the top 100 trial lawyers in the US that came before judges and juries to plead cases representing his clients, and won, therefore creating change in the lives of some of your fellow physicians and colleagues. This is not just any ambulance chasing attorney, HE IS a fine attorney, and brilliant in a court of law. There is much wrong in this . . . the greatest nation on Earth's healthcare system and there are countless aspects involved that fuel this growing crisis. One being, that doctors and hospitals are now run by insurance companies with their demands. Telling doctors what they will cover, what they will not, when to admit a patient, and when they are to be sent home, regardless how serious their condition, or its recovery. Other concerns include the skyrocketing cost of medical equipment in hospitals, clinics and doctor's offices today, the cost of prescription medications, which to me, includes what amounts to THE most abhorrent gouging of taxpayers; the cost of services to the uninsured that hospitals never see and taxpayers absorb in their own insurance premiums. These, along with the ever burdening cost of long-term care for the growing population of elderly are all part of the crisis. Quote:
At Duke, I've heard doctors refer to attorneys as DOGS, literally; and there is reason that they do so. The attorneys are not helping the medical crisis in this country, they are adding to it, profusely. I may misunderstand your statement above, I may not. But it is true, if I am following you correctly--no one earning 100 million dollars should be able to take 1 of every 3 dollars won to suffering patients in decisions of medical malpractice awards. At the same time, I think Chairmans and CEOs are not worth their salaries either. To me, this IS a crime of even greater proportion. Anyway, you troubled me with your comments, but in being concerned as much for you this evening, I feel they simply were a mistake, ill felt, born from experience, and stated at the worst of times. Please understand that I hold no disregard for you skill, your work ethic, or how hard you had to work to get there. So with this, rest well, morning comes quickly. 
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#2
03-22-2007, 11:42 PM
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Grits, one could counterargue that part of the problem is the difficulty in getting incomptent doctors barred from practice, since most major medical mistakes are caused by a pretty small number of doctors.
My mother's hearing was irrevocably damaged when she was 13 by a doctor who treated her for a sinus infection with a medication that was known, at the time, to progressively damage the inner ear. Had my mother lived to see 40, she would have been deaf by then. As it was, she never heard a bird chirp after she was 18. This doctor was eventually drummed out of the profession by his own colleagues, though not soon enough to save my mother's hearing. When my mother was 33 she discovered a lump in her breast. Her gyno sent her to a specialist, but she was seen on two occastions by two of his associates, who teased her about being a typical hypochondriac RN and sent her home both times. A year later, the lump bigger, she saw her gyno again, who yelled at her for allowing herself to be seen by the specialist's "idiot associates," as the gyno put it. My mom died at 35 from breast cancer. Would an earlier diagnosis have given her more time? I don't know. But being misdiagnosed twice certainly didn't help. So doctors can call lawyers "dogs" all they want, but if the AMA would step up and make it easier to disbar bad doctors, I think the opportunities for malpractice suits would also drop.
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Gentlemen! We're burning daylight! Riders up! -Bill Murray
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#3
03-23-2007, 07:43 AM
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On the lighter side- something sweet about the Edwards- they celebrate their anniversary every year at Wendy's because when they were first married they were too poor to go anywhere else so that was where they spent their first anniversary.
__________________
Gentlemen! We're burning daylight! Riders up! -Bill Murray
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#4
03-23-2007, 05:06 PM
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I had breast cancer and speak from this experience--one of the surgeon's f'ed up REALLY badly. Not only did I have to go through that strange, frightening experience, but then the almighty doc claimed that he really "couldn't see any problem." I won't go into specifics, but it was horrifying and humiliating.
THANK GOD for the pit bull of a lawyer who represented me. The doc was caught in a lie on the witness stand...if I didn't have my day in court and someone to crusade for me, I'd be just another poor schmo up against the Almighty Doctor. Believe me, malpractice lawyers are sorely needed. Don't get caught up in the knee-jerk belief that they are simply ambulance chasers and people who bring law suits are out for a quick buck.
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#5
03-23-2007, 05:38 PM
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Byalip, I'm so sorry that you had to go through, not only the frightening experience of breast cancer, but too, the more horrifying, nightmarish, experience of a medical malpractice lawsuit.
And you are correct, not all attorneys are ambulance chasing dogs, nor are all doctors without error in judgement. There are those that do suffer from The God Syndrome. And that's unfortunate. I hope that you are well, and will continue to remain cancer free--forever. Quote:
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#6
03-23-2007, 10:56 PM
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Grits--
The good news is that as of the first day of spring, I celebrated my 7 year anniversary. I was extremely lucky--it was caught on a routine mammogram so it was VERY early--Stage Zero. Let this be a warning to everyone--get the recommended checkups every year. NO ONE in my family had a history and I was the one who was always exercising and eating well. So much for "profiles"....LOL The better news is, that to get my mind off all the stuff I had to deal with, I decided to go to the library and look up an entirely new subject...and learn about it...something that was totally off my radar screen. I happened upon a book by Andy Beyer and another about how to read a Daily Racing Form. I was HOOKED and became a rabid fan. So....this love affair with horse racing and race horses, I owe it all to breast cancer!!! Truth is stranger than fiction, huh?
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#7
03-23-2007, 11:07 PM
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And it IS a love affair, but a torrid one. I love it one minute, and cuss it the next.
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#8
03-24-2007, 09:18 AM
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Byalip, I'm glad all has gone well for you.
 My parents wound up not suing- my dad wanted to, but my mother asked him not to- her health declined so rapidly she didn't feel up to the stress of a malpractice suit, I guess. I can only hope the first two idiots who saw my mother took other ostensibly low-risk women who came in with lumps more seriously the next time, but I'll never know.I agree, most doctors are very competent- my point was, the majority of errors are done by a small number of doctors- so why isn't it easier to get them out of the profession? Though, I've also read that medical malpractice suits in the end, do not add that much cost to doing medicine; they're just used as an excuse by the insurance companies to justify the money they demand from doctors and patients. In any event, here's an interesting explainer-type article about the specifics of Elizabeth Edwards' diagnosis: http://www.slate.com/id/2162548?nav=tap3
__________________
Gentlemen! We're burning daylight! Riders up! -Bill Murray
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