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Re: lawyer story

To: triumphs@Autox.Team.Net
Subject: Re: lawyer story
From: joe-schneider@nwu.edu (Joseph Schneider)
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 1997 21:22:36 -0500
>I always find it distinctly un-charming when one professional maligns
>another.

then you must not enjoy deposing or cross examining in medical malpractice
cases- I've been an expert reviewer and even been deposed a few times, the
plaintiff's attorneys are as uncharming as I could imagine when they go
after defendants

>
>Perhaps we should all circulate some jokes about surgeons taking off the
>wrong leg or leaving sponges in an incision?  How about psychiatrists
>who have sex with their dependent patients?  Not so funny perhaps?

first of all, I cannot verify this, but this was sent to me as coming from
the Alameda District Attorney's "Point of View", I presume a periodical
publication, and I may be naiive, but I initially assumed a true story, not
a joke
second, you don't have to circulate this kind of stuff about physicians,
the newspapers (and the California Board of Medical Quality Assurance for
those of us with California licenses) do it all the time and they should, I
believe surgeons who are careless and psychiatrists who have sex with
patients should get suspended- however, I was recently speechless when I
read something in the Chicago Tribune about lawyers (in the US) arguing
their right to have sexual relationships with clients, no less than Melvin
Belli argued had that it was his right- what do you suppose would happen if
the psychiatrists argued similarly?
>
>On another level, I have refrained from sending this to the whole series
>of lists that you abused.  What the heck does this have to do with
>Triumphs, for example.

I am in general agreement the list should contain information pertinent to
the interest of the list subscribers and you'll note I titled this lawyer
story (by the way, initially received from an economist friend, not another
physician) so that people without an interest wouldn't have to read the
message- I probably read 5% of the triumph messages because there is a lot
of redundancy, the topics listed for many individual messages aren't of
immediate interest to me, and I don't have time for 100 messages a day
I also apologized for non-topical content of my message- I've been on this
list for a couple years, don't think I've sent anything else non-topical
and I've never engaged in any of the flame wars- I just want to make my
Spitfire run better and help others when possible

>
>No reply is necessary or invited.
>
any message sent on any of the half dozen or so lists to which I've ever
subscribed is an implicit invitation for a reply

my friends and acquaintances in Canada (including two vascular surgeons at
U of Toronto and another at East Toronto General) pay malpractice premiums
that are less than 10% of mine, I believe it's because plaintiffs'
attorneys are predators in this country
I've seen the way ridiculous malpractice suits which never get to court or
result in finding for the defendants nevertheless disrupt physicians' lives
in this country, but I admit we all must share some of the blame for the
system we have, rent "The Verdict" if you haven't seen it, the lawyers and
the physicians were concerned about winning and losing, the only person who
asked "Did we do wrong?" was the bishop of the (Catholic) hospitals diocese

since you appear to have elected not to send your message to the entire
list, I will return the serve

all the best
Joe



Joseph R Schneider, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Surgery, Northwestern University Medical School
100 Burch, Evanston Hospital, 2650 Ridge Ave, Evanston, IL 60201
voice: (847) 570-2565  fax: (847) 570-2899  e-mail: joe-schneider@nwu.edu
world wide web page:  http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~jschneid/JRS.HTML



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