Senator James King Jr. Suite 409 The Capital 404 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399
April 10, 2003
Dear Senator King:
I am writing to express my shock, dismay and utter disgust over your position on tort reform. As a card-carrying Republican and a physician, I feel a sense of personal betrayal. It is an outrage that you could possibly benefit from donations to the Florida Republican party. I do not think that you belong in the Republican party anymore. Your position on tort reform puts you in the same league as the liberal socialists who feel that people are “entitled” to benefits from the government; that people with a work ethic are to be derided; and that there is no such thing as a frivolous lawsuit. There are so many cases of frivolous lawsuits resulting in huge judgements for the plaintiff that it is tragic: The 39 year old woman who claimed that an MRI examination of her head caused her to lose her “psychic and clairvoyant abilities”. The jury decided the loss of these abilities was worth $1.5 million. The neonatologist who gave a gravely ill baby a blood transfusion in 1985, when there was no test available for HIV. In 1987, the Look Back program identified the child as at risk. The neonatologist promptly informed the parents. The parent sued and won a $26.7 million dollar judgement. An anesthesiologist chips a patient’s tooth during a difficult emergency intubation. In spite of saving the patient’s life, the patient sues and collects a $900,000 jury award. As a small business owner, I am sure that you are aware of the risks of frivolous lawsuits in any business operation. The well-known story of the burglar falling through the roof of a factory, breaking his legs and suing the factory is not an urban legend. The malpractice crisis is also a crisis for women’s healthcare in this state. Obstetricians and gynecologists face some of the most severe insurance bills, since most of them have been sued at least once. As womens’ healthcare professionals abandon high-risk procedures, mammography, prenatal and obstetric care, these services are becoming increasingly unavailable. Children will also suffer. The last remaining pediatric neurosurgeon in Jacksonville is leaving after getting a $600,000 insurance bill. Children’s orthopedic and trauma services are particularly hard-hit. Thus, I am urgently exhorting you to reconsider your position regarding this legislation. Failure to do so may result in:
1. Boycott of your businesses in Florida.
2. Expulsion from the Republican party.
3. Censure from your colleagues.
4. Destruction of any future political aspirations.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Glenn W. Knox, MD, FACS Jacksonville
GWK/gwk
CC:
The Honorable Jeb Bush, Governor of Florida The Duval County Republican Party The Clay County Republican Party The Florida State Republican Party The Duval County Medical Society
One maddening thing (for the docs) about the med malpractice industry is that the suits and payouts generally bear no relationship to competence. Thus doctors who agree see the most high risk (sickest) patients are the most likely to be sued. Very sick patients are more likely to have adverse outcomes.
Emergency trauma cases (often performed under insane battlefield type conditions) are the ones where a tooth might get chipped, something the democrats will never tell you. Another example is the gold mine (for crooked lawyers) who make mega-bucks off of neurosurgeons (brain injury almost always has some residual brain damage, by definition) and obstetricans (congenital blameless birth defects equals lawyer yachts and French Riviera condos).
These lawyer cockroaches will choose their own financial interests, over party honor and the needs of the people.
Me? I will vote for a tort reform democrat any day. I will NEVER NEVER vote for a lawyer, of any party.
Every physician needs to use the most sophisticated off-shore trusts and limited partnerships to tie his assets up in knots. Then he needs to post a sign in his office , "NOTICE: I no longer carry malpractice insurance. Any claim filed against me will be fought in court to the highest possible level of appeals. I have arranged my financial affairs so that any judgment against me will be exceedingly difficult to collect. If you file suit against me and lose, you and your attorney should expect to be countersued the very next morning. I regret having to take these steps but because of the lawsuit crisis, it is the only possible way I am able to remain in practice."
Instead of insurance, physicians should contribute to a legal defense fund that hires the most aggressive junkyard dog defense attorneys, and litigates EVERY SINGLE CLAIM to the nth degree. They should go after attorneys and plaintiffs with aggressive countersuits each and every time they file a losing suit. Dig for dirt on every malpractice attorney, file ethics complaints, picket their offices, publicize their greed, hire helicopters to film their palatial mansions, in short, do everything possible to DESTROY the filthy scum sucking vermin and put them out of business.
And it goes without saying that plaintiff's attorneys, their families and employees should be shunned socially, turned away from every physician's office, and denied all but true emergency health care.
Does this mean that some people who suffer legitimate injuries will not be compensated? Yes. Tough s**t. Maybe then we'll see some public pressure for sensible reforms.
-ccm
On the other hand, I was recently talking to a retired IRS Special Agent. He told me the very first person he visited as an Agent was a Woman Dr. who was making over a million a year. Her husband was also a Dr. and he was also making over a million and this was over 20 years ago.
I was recently reading about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It seems that he was a physician in the late 19th century and the reason he took up writing the Sherlock Holmes stories was because he was not making a living as a Doctor.
Many doctors are simply making a killing.