Archives
October 2005
10/27/05
10/27/05
10/27/05
10/27/05
10/27/05
10/19/05
10/19/05
10/11/05
10/11/05
10/11/05
10/11/05
10/11/05
10/7/05
10/7/05
10/7/05
10/6/05
10/6/05
10/4/05
10/4/05
10/4/05
10-4-05 - LIABILITY UPDATE - Med-Mal Report Misled the Public, more - Part 3
Tuesday, October 4, 2005
6....The Citizens Voice
Case spotlights malpractice issue
By Denise Allabaugh, Staff Writer
09/29/2005
The $11 million settlement reached Wednesday in the malpractice case involving the death of 4-year-old Torajee Bobbett once again pitted lawyers against doctors over a proposed $250,000 cap for pain and suffering damages. ((I'm not going to comment on the merits of this case at all.....I WILL, however, take issue with claims that this particular case is a reason to oppose medical liability reform....))
Doctors are in favor of placing caps on non-economic damages in malpractice cases. Attorneys oppose caps.
The Bobbett case illustrates that a cap on pain and suffering damages in malpractice cases would be "terribly unfair" to victims with no wage loss, such as children, stay-at-home moms, the elderly and poor, said attorney Joseph Quinn, who represents the Bobbett family.
"The reality is, I spent substantially more than that in preparing this case," Quinn said Wednesday after the $11 million settlement was reached. "To say that a little boy's life is only worth a maximum of $250,000 is an absolute outrage." ((That statement is ridiculous - unless the entire settlement was for "pain and suffering," since that's the only portion of damages caps would affect. I suspect that a large portion of this settlement was for economic damages, which cover medical care, home care, lost wages and lost POTENTIAL wages - a lifetime's worth, if necessary, child care, physical therapy and everything else the family will need to care for and provide for their son. I suspect that Atty., Quinn's $4.4 MILLION contingent fee is higher than the actual part of the settlement which is for "pain and suffering." Claims that awards and settlements would be limited to ONLY $250,000 by caps legislation is disingenuous and downright sleazy...))
Quinn feels caps would eliminate lawsuits such as the Bobbett case. The Bobbetts claimed doctors and nurses at Mercy Hospital in Wilkes-Barre failed to diagnose and treat their son's bowel obstruction in the 10 hours after he was brought to the hospital on July 19, 2001, with a severe abdominal condition.
Preparing for the case involved consulting 20 expert witnesses and 30 depositions, Quinn said. Most lawyers cannot afford the costs, he said.
"I don't think people realize how expensive these cases are," Quinn said. "That's why we try to screen these cases. The reality is, they knew from day one that this child was not properly cared for and they should have come to these two parents."
Quinn will receive 40 percent of the settlement or at least $4.4 million, according to the law firm. ((Expenses for those 20 expert witnesses and 30 depositions that Atty. Quinn complained about comes out of the family's portion of the settlment, not Atty. Quinn's. On average, most victims and families actually receive only about 46% of awards....))
The medical community supports a $250,000 limit on pain and suffering damages in malpractice cases to avoid high payouts.
High malpractice settlements and verdicts will "trickle down into the insurance industry and will eventually impact patients and doctors," said Chuck Moran, spokesman for Pennsylvania Medical Society.
He also criticized the percentage that lawyers receive from high malpractice verdicts and settlements.
"That's another part of the problem," Moran said. "It's basically a large pay-day for the attorneys involved."
Doctors are not trying to limit economic damages, said Dr. Gary Verazin, a surgical oncologist and an advocate for caps.
Even if limits were placed on non-economic damages, the Bobbett family would still receive a lifetime worth of potential earnings for their son, he said.
"That's a fairly significant amount," Dr. Verazin said. "Part of reform is to decrease the amount of the percentage the lawyers get from verdicts and settlements."
As a result of the high liability risk, Dr. Verazin will no longer perform surgery on children with acute abdominal conditions, he said.
"At times, it is difficult to diagnose," Verazin said. "The jury will have a feeling of compassion for a child, no matter what is scientifically right or wrong."
The $11 million settlement was not the largest in a Luzerne County courtroom, Quinn said.
"I've had verdicts much higher than this. I've had settlements higher than this, but that's not what this is about. This was about simply seeking justice," Quinn said.
Quinn was not willing to settle the case in a lump sum. The $11 million settlement includes a number of payments, which through investments, could increase the total to nearly $17 million over time, he said. Some payments are for "emotional distress and anguish," he said. ((Interesting how he doesn't offer how MUCH was for "emotional distress and anguish".....which suggests to me that the amount would destroy his argument that a cap on pain and suffering would have unduly harmed THIS family....))
7.....The Citizens Voice
Quinn critical of alleged document-altering, Mercy's attorney
By Denise Allabaugh, Staff Writer 09/30/2005
Mercy Hospital in Wilkes-Barre did not admit guilt in the death of 4-year-old Torajee Bobbett although it settled for $11 million, said retired attorney Barton Post, father of Mercy Hospital attorney Benjamin Post.
"Anytime you settle a case, it's a compromise," Barton Post said. "It's an acknowledgment that it's a case that should be settled."
Attorney Joseph Quinn heavily criticized attorney Benjamin Post of law firm Post and Post in Berwyn, Chester County, for allegedly altering 67 policy documents.
In a prepared statement, co-counsel Michelle Quinn said the Bobbett family brought the lawsuit because the boy's parents wanted to get to the bottom of what happened to Torajee, and the hospital and Post "tried to prevent that."
"They wanted the truth, and the hospital and its attorney did everything in their power to hide what happened from the family and the public," she said.
Benjamin Post could not be reached for comment Thursday, but his father denied that his son altered hospital documents.
"Ben was not involved in the production of those documents one bit," Barton Post said, adding that these documents were handled by another attorney who he would not identify.
Post denied that his son tried to hide any information. He said Quinn's firm received the documents from July 2001 that were requested. Hundreds of policy documents were produced "without one word being changed, altered or hidden," Post said.
The historical information blacked out was obvious, Post said, and no material was intentionally "hidden and disguised."
"To suggest something was hidden, borders on obscene," Post said.
Mercy Hospital risk manager Ann Marie Zimmerman admitted in Luzerne County Court on Friday documents were altered.
Quinn said Mercy Health Partners president and CEO Jim May also knew the documents were changed.
A prepared statement from Mercy Health Partners stated that May "does not ever have responsibility for document production within the course of litigation claims." He and Zimmerman "appropriately relied entirely on our counsel," according to the statement.
Quinn said Post's actions, if he altered the documents, could result in a sanction hearing before the state's disciplinary board for attorneys.
"We have to make all the reports that are necessary," Quinn said. "It's not a quick process."
Quinn asked for immunity for Zimmerman in exchange for her testimony. Zimmerman was precluded from offering any more testimony Tuesday and it was unclear Thursday if she would face the charge of unsworn falsification to authorities.
Zimmerman's attorney, Joseph Cosgrove, said she took the advice of hospital counsel and she "wants her life back."
Dan Fee, director of Pennsylvania Citizens for Fairness, a coalition dedicated to protecting patient safety, said the Bobbett case illustrates the need for the public to know how many errors occur at hospitals and which doctors have been sued for negligence. ((See Item 8 for my response to the use of this organization as a patient safety coalition...))
Twenty-seven other states allow the public access to this type of information, Fee said.
"To this day, no hospital in Pennsylvania collects how many errors occur or how many infections occur and reports this to the public," Fee said. "Patients are in the dark." ((Didn't we all JUST read reports from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council about death, infection and readmission rates in hospitals all over the state, a report which noted that from 2002 to 2004, patient death rates dropped from 4.5% to 4.2%? Mr. Fee must not have seen this significant report, which compares risk-adjusted death rates, lengths of stay and hospital bills for patients admitted to 180 Pennsylvania hospitals for 30 common medical conditions or treatments between Oct. 1, 2003, and Sept. 30, 2004. If you missed it, access the story here: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b6-5report-1sep29,0,2216747.story?coll=all-newslocal-hed. Isn't this public enough?))
Allowing the public to access this information would help improve the health care system and would help prevent errors from occurring in the future, Fee said.
"Patients should be able to find out the basic information and if the hospital they are going to is safe," Fee said. ((See above....that information IS available to the public...)) "I think most patients understand there are bad outcomes and at times, there are mistakes. But when there is negligence involved and hospitals aren't doing enough to make health care safe, eventually patients will stop going there."
Settlements in Pennsylvania malpractice cases are not always open to the public, but Quinn said his firm insisted on an open settlement because "what happened to Torajee should never happen again."
"Most medical malpractice cases are settled out of court confidentially so that the public can never find out about these kind of tragic events in our hospitals," Quinn said. "We wanted an open settlement in this case so that Torajee's life and tragic death would not be in vain. What happened to Torajee should never, ever happen again."
8...Sent to the Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice
((This probably won't get printed....but it made me feel better to write it...perhaps if this paper receives enough letters about its irresponsible use of lawyer-founded and funded groups as "consumer" advocates, they'll start identifying these groups for what they are....perhaps some local physicians and hospitals could even cancel subscriptions and stop advertising in newspapers which continue to quote the front groups without identifying their ties to the trial bar....))
October 3, 2005
To the editor:
In Friday's article entitled "Quinn critical of alleged document-altering" several quotes are included from the spokesperson for a group which has been misrepresented as an independent consumer protection organization, including this passage: "Dan Fee, director of Pennsylvania Citizens for Fairness, a coalition dedicated to protecting patient safety, said the Bobbett case illustrates the need for the public to know how many errors occur at hospitals and which doctors have been sued for negligence."
According to the Pennsylvania Department of State Web site, "Pennsylvania Citizens for Fairness" is a "fictitious name." The records identify "Pennsylvania Citizens For Fairness," filed as Entity No. 3139071, with an address at the time of filing at 121 S. Broad St, Ste 600. Philadelphia, PA 19107. This is the office of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, as identified on PTLA's own website at http://philatla.org/about_officers3.php.as follows: Association Office -- PTLA - 121 South Broad Street, Suite 600, Philadelphia, PA 19107 Phone: (215) 732-2256 Fax: (215) 732-7637. While the current PCF website lists a different address, the public records clearly identify where it began. The record further notes the "Fictitious Owners" as "PA Trial Lawyers Association." And while the article describes the group as a "coalition," its own website doesn't identify a SINGLE "coalition" partner, which is curious, since most coalitions proudly tout the organizations which support them.
I don't see how any responsible newspaper can continue to utilize Mr. Fee's quotes as representative of anyone other than the views of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers in light of this information - which has been published in several other newspapers and is readily available on public websites. Other publications identify Mr. Fee and his organization as having ties with the trial lawyers. It is simply inaccurate to allow his opinions to stand as if they were comments from an independent consumer or patient safety organization. Mr. Fee's group, which most certainly has the right to express its positions, should be honestly identified for its ties to personal injury lawyers. Your readers should be permitted to decide whether those views have value based on who is really espousing them. And since the views of the trial bar had already been expressed by Atty. Quinn, it is hardly "balanced" coverage to offer up Mr. Fee's positions as an independent third party when the facts prove this is not so.
One has to wonder why physician advocacy and specialty organizations clearly identify themselves and their affiliations, while those who oppose liability reform employ the "fictitious names" strategy to hide theorganizations they really represent...
Just in case anyone questions MY affiliation, I am not employed by any physician or lawsuit abuse advocacy organization but voluntarily distribute information from all of them, and am a member of several. I am also married to a surgeon, have survived breast cancer through the intervention of outstanding doctors, and have two sons whose future access to quality health care is an ongoing concern.
Donna Baver Rovito
ROVSPA@aol.com
Editor, Liability Update
Please visit the Liability Update Weblog at:
http://journals.aol.com/rovspa/LiabilityUpdate/
If you would like to be added to or removed from the Liability Update Information Network, or if you have information about yourself or a colleague relocating, retiring early, giving up medicine, private practice or curtailing services due to the medical liability crisis please email ROVSPA@aol.com.
rovspa at 10:16:00 AM EDT Blog about this entry |
Add to del.icio.us | 
digg this
10-4-05 - LIABILITY UPDATE - Med-Mal Report Misled the Public, more - Part 3
6....The Citizens Voice
Case spotlights malpractice issue
By Denise Allabaugh, Staff Writer
09/29/2005
The $11 million settlement reached Wednesday in the malpractice case involving the death of 4-year-old Torajee Bobbett once again pitted lawyers against doctors over a proposed $250,000 cap for pain and suffering damages. ((I'm not going to comment on the merits of this case at all.....I WILL, however, take issue with claims that this particular case is a reason to oppose medical liability reform....))Doctors are in favor of placing caps on non-economic damages in malpractice cases. Attorneys oppose caps.
The Bobbett case illustrates that a cap on pain and suffering damages in malpractice cases would be "terribly unfair" to victims with no wage loss, such as children, stay-at-home moms, the elderly and poor, said attorney Joseph Quinn, who represents the Bobbett family.
"The reality is, I spent substantially more than that in preparing this case," Quinn said Wednesday after the $11 million settlement was reached. "To say that a little boy's life is only worth a maximum of $250,000 is an absolute outrage." ((That statement is ridiculous - unless the entire settlement was for "pain and suffering," since that's the only portion of damages caps would affect. I suspect that a large portion of this settlement was for economic damages, which cover medical care, home care, lost wages and lost POTENTIAL wages - a lifetime's worth, if necessary, child care, physical therapy and everything else the family will need to care for and provide for their son. I suspect that Atty., Quinn's $4.4 MILLION contingent fee is higher than the actual part of the settlement which is for "pain and suffering." Claims that awards and settlements would be limited to ONLY $250,000 by caps legislation is disingenuous and downright sleazy...))
Quinn feels caps would eliminate lawsuits such as the Bobbett case. The Bobbetts claimed doctors and nurses at Mercy Hospital in Wilkes-Barre failed to diagnose and treat their son's bowel obstruction in the 10 hours after he was brought to the hospital on July 19, 2001, with a severe abdominal condition.
Preparing for the case involved consulting 20 expert witnesses and 30 depositions, Quinn said. Most lawyers cannot afford the costs, he said.
"I don't think people realize how expensive these cases are," Quinn said. "That's why we try to screen these cases. The reality is, they knew from day one that this child was not properly cared for and they should have come to these two parents."
Quinn will receive 40 percent of the settlement or at least $4.4 million, according to the law firm. ((Expenses for those 20 expert witnesses and 30 depositions that Atty. Quinn complained about comes out of the family's portion of the settlment, not Atty. Quinn's. On average, most victims and families actually receive only about 46% of awards....))
The medical community supports a $250,000 limit on pain and suffering damages in malpractice cases to avoid high payouts.
High malpractice settlements and verdicts will "trickle down into the insurance industry and will eventually impact patients and doctors," said Chuck Moran, spokesman for Pennsylvania Medical Society.
He also criticized the percentage that lawyers receive from high malpractice verdicts and settlements.
"That's another part of the problem," Moran said. "It's basically a large pay-day for the attorneys involved."
Doctors are not trying to limit economic damages, said Dr. Gary Verazin, a surgical oncologist and an advocate for caps.
Even if limits were placed on non-economic damages, the Bobbett family would still receive a lifetime worth of potential earnings for their son, he said.
"That's a fairly significant amount," Dr. Verazin said. "Part of reform is to decrease the amount of the percentage the lawyers get from verdicts and settlements."
As a result of the high liability risk, Dr. Verazin will no longer perform surgery on children with acute abdominal conditions, he said.
"At times, it is difficult to diagnose," Verazin said. "The jury will have a feeling of compassion for a child, no matter what is scientifically right or wrong."
The $11 million settlement was not the largest in a Luzerne County courtroom, Quinn said.
"I've had verdicts much higher than this. I've had settlements higher than this, but that's not what this is about. This was about simply seeking justice," Quinn said.
Quinn was not willing to settle the case in a lump sum. The $11 million settlement includes a number of payments, which through investments, could increase the total to nearly $17 million over time, he said. Some payments are for "emotional distress and anguish," he said. ((Interesting how he doesn't offer how MUCH was for "emotional distress and anguish".....which suggests to me that the amount would destroy his argument that a cap on pain and suffering would have unduly harmed THIS family....))
7.....The Citizens Voice
Quinn critical of alleged document-altering, Mercy's attorney
By Denise Allabaugh, Staff Writer 09/30/2005
Mercy Hospital in Wilkes-Barre did not admit guilt in the death of 4-year-old Torajee Bobbett although it settled for $11 million, said retired attorney Barton Post, father of Mercy Hospital attorney Benjamin Post.
"Anytime you settle a case, it's a compromise," Barton Post said. "It's an acknowledgment that it's a case that should be settled."
Attorney Joseph Quinn heavily criticized attorney Benjamin Post of law firm Post and Post in Berwyn, Chester County, for allegedly altering 67 policy documents.
In a prepared statement, co-counsel Michelle Quinn said the Bobbett family brought the lawsuit because the boy's parents wanted to get to the bottom of what happened to Torajee, and the hospital and Post "tried to prevent that."
"They wanted the truth, and the hospital and its attorney did everything in their power to hide what happened from the family and the public," she said.
Benjamin Post could not be reached for comment Thursday, but his father denied that his son altered hospital documents.
"Ben was not involved in the production of those documents one bit," Barton Post said, adding that these documents were handled by another attorney who he would not identify.
Post denied that his son tried to hide any information. He said Quinn's firm received the documents from July 2001 that were requested. Hundreds of policy documents were produced "without one word being changed, altered or hidden," Post said.
The historical information blacked out was obvious, Post said, and no material was intentionally "hidden and disguised."
"To suggest something was hidden, borders on obscene," Post said.
Mercy Hospital risk manager Ann Marie Zimmerman admitted in Luzerne County Court on Friday documents were altered.
Quinn said Mercy Health Partners president and CEO Jim May also knew the documents were changed.
A prepared statement from Mercy Health Partners stated that May "does not ever have responsibility for document production within the course of litigation claims." He and Zimmerman "appropriately relied entirely on our counsel," according to the statement.
Quinn said Post's actions, if he altered the documents, could result in a sanction hearing before the state's disciplinary board for attorneys.
"We have to make all the reports that are necessary," Quinn said. "It's not a quick process."
Quinn asked for immunity for Zimmerman in exchange for her testimony. Zimmerman was precluded from offering any more testimony Tuesday and it was unclear Thursday if she would face the charge of unsworn falsification to authorities.
Zimmerman's attorney, Joseph Cosgrove, said she took the advice of hospital counsel and she "wants her life back."
Dan Fee, director of Pennsylvania Citizens for Fairness, a coalition dedicated to protecting patient safety, said the Bobbett case illustrates the need for the public to know how many errors occur at hospitals and which doctors have been sued for negligence. ((See Item 8 for my response to the use of this organization as a patient safety coalition...))
Twenty-seven other states allow the public access to this type of information, Fee said.
"To this day, no hospital in Pennsylvania collects how many errors occur or how many infections occur and reports this to the public," Fee said. "Patients are in the dark." ((Didn't we all JUST read reports from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council about death, infection and readmission rates in hospitals all over the state, a report which noted that from 2002 to 2004, patient death rates dropped from 4.5% to 4.2%? Mr. Fee must not have seen this significant report, which compares risk-adjusted death rates, lengths of stay and hospital bills for patients admitted to 180 Pennsylvania hospitals for 30 common medical conditions or treatments between Oct. 1, 2003, and Sept. 30, 2004. If you missed it, access the story here: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b6-5report-1sep29,0,2216747.story?coll=all-newslocal-hed. Isn't this public enough?))
Allowing the public to access this information would help improve the health care system and would help prevent errors from occurring in the future, Fee said.
"Patients should be able to find out the basic information and if the hospital they are going to is safe," Fee said. ((See above....that information IS available to the public...)) "I think most patients understand there are bad outcomes and at times, there are mistakes. But when there is negligence involved and hospitals aren't doing enough to make health care safe, eventually patients will stop going there."
Settlements in Pennsylvania malpractice cases are not always open to the public, but Quinn said his firm insisted on an open settlement because "what happened to Torajee should never happen again."
"Most medical malpractice cases are settled out of court confidentially so that the public can never find out about these kind of tragic events in our hospitals," Quinn said. "We wanted an open settlement in this case so that Torajee's life and tragic death would not be in vain. What happened to Torajee should never, ever happen again."
8...Sent to the Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice
((This probably won't get printed....but it made me feel better to write it...perhaps if this paper receives enough letters about its irresponsible use of lawyer-founded and funded groups as "consumer" advocates, they'll start identifying these groups for what they are....perhaps some local physicians and hospitals could even cancel subscriptions and stop advertising in newspapers which continue to quote the front groups without identifying their ties to the trial bar....))
October 3, 2005
To the editor:
In Friday's article entitled "Quinn critical of alleged document-altering" several quotes are included from the spokesperson for a group which has been misrepresented as an independent consumer protection organization, including this passage: "Dan Fee, director of Pennsylvania Citizens for Fairness, a coalition dedicated to protecting patient safety, said the Bobbett case illustrates the need for the public to know how many errors occur at hospitals and which doctors have been sued for negligence."
According to the Pennsylvania Department of State Web site, "Pennsylvania Citizens for Fairness" is a "fictitious name." The records identify "Pennsylvania Citizens For Fairness," filed as Entity No. 3139071, with an address at the time of filing at 121 S. Broad St, Ste 600. Philadelphia, PA 19107. This is the office of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, as identified on PTLA's own website at http://philatla.org/about_officers3.php.as follows: Association Office -- PTLA - 121 South Broad Street, Suite 600, Philadelphia, PA 19107 Phone: (215) 732-2256 Fax: (215) 732-7637. While the current PCF website lists a different address, the public records clearly identify where it began. The record further notes the "Fictitious Owners" as "PA Trial Lawyers Association." And while the article describes the group as a "coalition," its own website doesn't identify a SINGLE "coalition" partner, which is curious, since most coalitions proudly tout the organizations which support them.
I don't see how any responsible newspaper can continue to utilize Mr. Fee's quotes as representative of anyone other than the views of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers in light of this information - which has been published in several other newspapers and is readily available on public websites. Other publications identify Mr. Fee and his organization as having ties with the trial lawyers. It is simply inaccurate to allow his opinions to stand as if they were comments from an independent consumer or patient safety organization. Mr. Fee's group, which most certainly has the right to express its positions, should be honestly identified for its ties to personal injury lawyers. Your readers should be permitted to decide whether those views have value based on who is really espousing them. And since the views of the trial bar had already been expressed by Atty. Quinn, it is hardly "balanced" coverage to offer up Mr. Fee's positions as an independent third party when the facts prove this is not so.
One has to wonder why physician advocacy and specialty organizations clearly identify themselves and their affiliations, while those who oppose liability reform employ the "fictitious names" strategy to hide theorganizations they really represent...
Just in case anyone questions MY affiliation, I am not employed by any physician or lawsuit abuse advocacy organization but voluntarily distribute information from all of them, and am a member of several. I am also married to a surgeon, have survived breast cancer through the intervention of outstanding doctors, and have two sons whose future access to quality health care is an ongoing concern.
Donna Baver Rovito
ROVSPA@aol.com
Editor, Liability Update
Please visit the Liability Update Weblog at:
http://journals.aol.com/rovspa/LiabilityUpdate/
If you would like to be added to or removed from the Liability Update Information Network, or if you have information about yourself or a colleague relocating, retiring early, giving up medicine, private practice or curtailing services due to the medical liability crisis please email ROVSPA@aol.com.
rovspa at 10:16:00 AM EDT Blog about this entry |
Add to del.icio.us | digg this
