Malpractice Lawyers are Disgusting Parasites!

[medicinesux]

found on some random law forum- "I dream of getting one brain damaged baby case all to myself so I can retire to Florida." -steve

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[GH253]

An incompetent physician can RUIN a patient's life, or end it. Physicians who harm their patients deserve to lose everything they have, and malpractices lawyers who produce such outcomes provide an invaluable service to the public. Of course, some lawyers abuse the judicial system and try to sue when it is not justified, but their actions don't indict malpractice lawyers as a group. Frankly, the problem has as much to do with widespread physician incompetence as it does with unscrupulous lawyers. Members of the medical community are prone to see doctors as being good and lawyers as being bad, but the truth is that, for every shyster malpractice lawyer out there, there'a a hack doctor who isn't fit to practice.

 

[Otoscopic]

I'm gonna have to agree with medicinesux on that one. I'm still training but have already heard countless examples of physicians being sued for doing something or not doing something in a reasonable and medically acceptable fashion. Bad outcomes are due to underlying diseases and patients refusing to take care of themselves in the first place more often than not. And the few examples where a medical error occurred despite a physician's best intentions should NOT result in that physician losing everything...

I agree that the rare case involving gross misconduct or an obviously flawed approach by a physician resulting in a bad outcome should result in punitive action and that physician either being sued for a reasonable amount of money or required to undergo evaluation/remediation of some sort. However, who can honestly say that an OB/GYN has any real control over the incidence of cerebral palsy or some other birth defect among their patients? Parents/patients need to learn to deal with the curveballs that life throws them, and not immediately start pointing their finger at others like it's all their fault and now they owe them bigtime.

Any malpractice lawyer that advertises on television in a manner that encourages average joe to view their misfortunes as somebody else's fault is a self-serving criminal, and deserves to be counter-sued by physicians and hospitals to recover lost time and wages spent defending against ridiculous claims.

 

[MOHS_01]

An incompetent physician can RUIN a patient's life, or end it. Physicians who harm their patients deserve to lose everything they have, and malpractices lawyers who produce such outcomes provide an invaluable service to the public. Of course, some lawyers abuse the judicial system and try to sue when it is not justified, but their actions don't indict malpractice lawyers as a group. Frankly, the problem has as much to do with widespread physician incompetence as it does with unscrupulous lawyers. Members of the medical community are prone to see doctors as being good and lawyers as being bad, but the truth is that, for every shyster malpractice lawyer out there, there'a a hack doctor who isn't fit to practice.

I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume your faulty beliefs are the result of inexperience and ignorance of the medical environ... where, in reality, you can do everything right and still have bad outcomes, do several things wrong and still have great outcomes, etc. Perhaps you have some medmal folks in your family or social network that entices you to extend unto them an undue civility and sympathy, I don't know... but you are way off base on the relative magnitudes of the respective problems here, bud..........

 

[paintballdoc]

GH253, who are you--a trial lawyer perhaps?? Doctors do not attempt to ruin people's lives. I have worked my ass off trying to take care of people and mistakes have happened (rarely) or bad outcomes just happen.

Patient's should be compensated for their losses (such as loss of income) but "pain and suffering" should be a small portion of the settlement. The way it is used now creates a lottery mentality and lawyers should never get rich from one settlement.

To state that a doctor "should lose everything" because a mistake is made sounds vindictive to me and not truly about justice.

 

[GH253]

I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume your faulty beliefs are the result of inexperience and ignorance of the medical environ... where, in reality, you can do everything right and still have bad outcomes, do several things wrong and still have great outcomes, etc. Perhaps you have some medmal folks in your family or social network that entices you to extend unto them an undue civility and sympathy, I don't know... but you are way off base on the relative magnitudes of the respective problems here, bud..........

I'm well aware that you can do everything right and still have bad outcomes. Those acts shouldn't be subject to lawsuits. My perspective is derived from my experience as a patient, not having anyone in my family who tells me what to believe.

 

[MOHS_01]

I'm well aware that you can do everything right and still have bad outcomes. Those acts shouldn't be subject to lawsuits. My perspective is derived from my experience as a patient, not having anyone in my family who tells me what to believe.

But they are, friend. It is actually the rare act that constitutes a raw, gross, and willful act of negligence. You know, the story of the doc leaving the OR to run to the bank, etc.

I don't know your personal experience, but I know of many docs who have been sued -- and lost -- for wholly inappropriate reasoning. The acne patient who failed to follow up and sued for scarring. The intern who was on the GI service, working up an ER diagnosed GI bleed -- that was the result of an aortic dissection, etc.... I am sorry for whatever perceived wrong you may have suffered, but an N=1 =/= trend......

 

[Pharmavixen]

Poll: most support curbs on malpractice suits.

 

[deleted50478]

An incompetent physician can RUIN a patient's life, or end it. Physicians who harm their patients deserve to lose everything they have, and malpractices lawyers who produce such outcomes provide an invaluable service to the public. Of course, some lawyers abuse the judicial system and try to sue when it is not justified, but their actions don't indict malpractice lawyers as a group. Frankly, the problem has as much to do with widespread physician incompetence as it does with unscrupulous lawyers. Members of the medical community are prone to see doctors as being good and lawyers as being bad, but the truth is that, for every shyster malpractice lawyer out there, there'a a hack doctor who isn't fit to practice.

The lawyer takes 40% of the award. He isn't providing a service. He is robbing everyone blind. There is no moral justification for some blood sucking lawyer to get filthy rich taking an excessive portion of people's awards. They don't even care whether the accused is at fault or not. They'd sell their mothers for more money. Pretending that lawyers help people get justice is considering the ideal which is far from the reality. If they were decent, they would charge a fee for their services. Instead they buy the democrat party so that they can prevent any limitation of their destructive practices on society and theft from the 'injured'. The millions of people harmed by having higher prices for every item and service available in this country due to the lawyers' lawsuits far outweighs the minimal benefit to a few people who are truely, avoidably harmed and get 60% of the compensation they are awarded.

 

[GH253]

The lawyer takes 40% of the award. He isn't providing a service. He is robbing everyone blind. There is no moral justification for some blood sucking lawyer to get filthy rich taking an excessive portion of people's awards. They don't even care whether the accused is at fault or not. They'd sell their mothers for more money. Pretending that lawyers help people get justice is considering the ideal which is far from the reality. If they were decent, they would charge a fee for their services. Instead they buy the democrat party so that they can prevent any limitation of their destructive practices on society and theft from the 'injured'. The millions of people harmed by having higher prices for every item and service available in this country due to the lawyers' lawsuits far outweighs the minimal benefit to a few people who are truely, avoidably harmed and get 60% of the compensation they are awarded.

The size of the lawyer's fee reflects the RISK the he assumes in taking the case. The expense of litigation comes out of his own pocket and if he loses the case, he loses his ass along with it. Most people cannot afford to pay the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal expenses associated with litigating a case and would never be able to have their day in court if not for an arrangement which makes it potentially profitable for a lawyer to assume the risk of paying those expenses. But, having probably already accepted the notion that doctors should work at a loss for the benefit of society, you seem to expect everyone else to do the same.

 

[koopa_troopa]

But, having probably already accepted the notion that doctors should work at a loss for the benefit of society, you seem to expect everyone else to do the same.

Actually I think only the American people feel that way.

 

[GH253]

Actually I think only the American people feel that way.

it's clear from the posts on SDN that many doctors have also accepted that notion

 

[deleted50478]

The size of the lawyer's fee reflects the RISK the he assumes in taking the case. The expense of litigation comes out of his own pocket and if he loses the case, he loses his ass along with it. Most people cannot afford to pay the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal expenses associated with litigating a case and would never be able to have their day in court if not for an arrangement which makes it potentially profitable for a lawyer to assume the risk of paying those expenses. But, having probably already accepted the notion that doctors should work at a loss for the benefit of society, you seem to expect everyone else to do the same.

Wrong. That's just their false justification for raping society. Public defenders don't make anything like tort shysters. We could have public representatives take malpractice claims to court for people who can't afford to hire a lawyer after review by a medical panel to show that the case has merit. Only decent cases would go to court and damaged parties could keep their entire award. At the very least there could be a maximum placed on the shysters loot. The tort rapists would lobby against these options though because they just want to get rich by harming society and driving up the cost of everything. Dirty sticking blood-sucking parasites.

 

[GassiusClay]

it's clear from the posts on SDN that many doctors have also accepted that notion

You claim to have a patient experience. Give details about the misconduct. What was done so wrong that your common life (unless you are Bill Gates or some other cultural gatekeeper) is worth so much?

Lawyers don't take real risks. Do it like Canada and put your balls on the table. When you lose, you pay the doctor's lost salary and court costs. Then the doctor gets to shoot you in the leg (I wish). And people can't afford the fees!? You mean where GH spouts BS (I mean uses a special skill set) in front of a jury.

I guess we could be off much worse with John Edwards being our president.

 

[deleted50478]

Risk is a part of life. Most torts should never be filed.

What do we gain from the parasites? A handful of people get monetary compensation for complaints that vary from completely made-up injuries to rare, real, serious, avoidable injuries; so a few people gain but the vast majority get nothing out of the system. We just pay thousands in taxes to support the courts they abuse and we pay more for every product we buy.

The primary result of shysters is not a safer society. It is fast-talking at the end of commercials, lots of small print on everything, coffee cups that say 'danger - hot coffee', knives that say 'danger - knife can cut', and a bunch of other useless bs that, at best, makes everything more expensive and, at worst, drives even more production to other countries to avoid the parasite lawyers in the US. And you get to see the scum of the earth prosper...

 

[GH253]

I agree that many successful malpractice suits aren't merituous, and that the lawyers who litigate those cases are thieves. That is a problem of the judicial system, not an indictment of lawyers qua lawyers. Malpractice law is not an intrinsically evil profession, nor is there anything wrong with contingency fees.

 

[deleted50478]

I agree that many successful malpractice suits aren't merituous, and that the lawyers who litigate those cases are thieves. That is a problem of the judicial system, not an indictment of lawyers qua lawyers. Malpractice law is not an intrinsically evil profession, nor is there anything wrong with contingency fees.

It isn't intrinsically evil. It IS evil in practice, and the practitioners are parasites. There is something wrong with contingency fees because they aren't used to allow people to receive a service they would not otherwise receive. They are used to charge a fee that is far beyond what the service is worth. It's not as if the lawyer is risking all that much by dedicating so much time and resources to the case. They mostly do next to nothing, get a settlement, and steal half.

"The threat of exorbitant claims, made in a context of judges' excessive deference to juries ruling randomly -- in ways no reasonable person could anticipate -- turns tort law into a tool of extortion." George Will

 

[IamAriDO]

Literally saw a shirt on a UMiami law student that said "Making Doctors pay for the last 25 years" just felt like sharing....what a mentality.

 

[GH253]

It isn't intrinsically evil. It IS evil in practice, and the practitioners are parasites. There is something wrong with contingency fees because they aren't used to allow people to receive a service they would not otherwise receive. They are used to charge a fee that is far beyond what the service is worth. It's not as if the lawyer is risking all that much by dedicating so much time and resources to the case. They mostly do next to nothing, get a settlement, and steal half.

"The threat of exorbitant claims, made in a context of judges' excessive deference to juries ruling randomly -- in ways no reasonable person could anticipate -- turns tort law into a tool of extortion." George Will

Your logic can be reduced to the following: "I'm a doctor, and since malpractice lawyers sue doctors, malpractice lawyers are evil. Furthermore, I resent the fact that lawyers make a lot of money. Waaaaaaaah!"

 

[deleted50478]

Your logic can be reduced to the following: "I'm a doctor, and since malpractice lawyers sue doctors, malpractice lawyers are evil. Furthermore, I resent the fact that lawyers make a lot of money. Waaaaaaaah!"

You obviously didn't read my posts. Parasites sue everyone not just doctors. They make it more expensive, but not safer, to do business, drive, work, etc. in the US. A few people gain, but THEY MAKE EVERYONE'S LIFE WORSE! It has nothing to do with medicine. They are a plague on every aspect of life.

The fact that they make so much money is only a problem because they make it by doing harm. If they provided a benefit to society, then I'd be happy for them to make all they can. They hurt society so they should be paid accordingly.


'Between grand theft and a legal fee, there only stands a law degree.'

 

[zenman]

The other day, here in Bangkok, I was reading about a plastic surgeon who stated that they can charge less (and therefore get many international clients), because they don't have to pay out the nose for malpractice insurance like physicians in the states.

I never can understand why physicians don't start their own insurance company.

 

[medicinesux]

malpractices lawyers who produce such outcomes provide an invaluable service to the public.

Looks like GH253 was put on probation today. For someone who thinks that malpractice lawyers "provide an invaluable service" while Catholic priests "contribute absolutely nothing", I now see why. It never ceases to amaze me the way some people think.

"Catholic priests contribute absolutely nothing of any slightest value whatsoever to society" -his post earlier today in pre-allo

 

[MOHS_01]

Who knows what his personal situation is. He may have been abused by a priest and a personal injury lawyer is his current hero. He may be bitter from not getting accepted into medical school. He may hate everything "establishment" and seek change for the traditional social order (a la progressive), or he may just be a troll.... who knows, but he is clearly off base on this topic.

 

[Pharmavixen]

There's also the damage that excessive litigation does to appropriate therapeutics.

One example: I'm studying post-graduate pharmacy and one of my professors helped write a big meta-analysis on the drug Bendectin, showing that it doesn't cause birth defects. But because of litigation, pregnant women in the US can't get this drug, so in the US there's a higher rate of pregnant women with hyperemesis gravidum having to be admitted to hospital than in countries where women can get this drug (now called Diclectin).

If lawyers can convince a judge that a mixture of a mild antihistamine and vitamin B6 causes thalidomide-level phocomelia, then it's open season on evidence-based medicine and the clinical judgement of drs.

 

[docB]

I never can understand why physicians don't start their own insurance company.

The EM staffing company I work for is self insured. We save about 15 - 20% over med mal on the open market but it still costs. Unless we reduce the risk there's only so much you can do.

 

[RGMSU]

Poll: most support curbs on malpractice suits.

Yet current healthcare proposals don't address it at all. Why is that? Could it be the left-wing lawyer interest groups?

 

[deleted87716]

 

[sgtbrushes]

One example: I'm studying post-graduate pharmacy and one of my professors helped write a big meta-analysis on the drug Bendectin, showing that it doesn't cause birth defects. But because of litigation, pregnant women in the US can't get this drug, so in the US there's a higher rate of pregnant women with hyperemesis gravidum having to be admitted to hospital than in countries where women can get this drug (now called Diclectin).

No big surprise here, but I'll agree with everyone else here who isn't on the lawyer's side. It's the same thing with someone falsely accused of rape or an MD who gets sued for pretty much no reason. Even if the rape charges are dropped, that person is still thought of as a rapist by society. You can't do anything to restore his image; likewise, MDs are forced to settle out of court on bullcrap charges becuse it is just too risky to take it to court.

 

[Kurk]

I've decided to go to law school over any healthcare field because I've pretty much had it with the bullcrap stemming from academia; specifically the idealist and arrogant attitudes stemming from faculty. I've come to realize that the majority of professors have no market value outside of academia, they hold themselves in super high regards despite nobody outside of academia having any need for them, and they come off as arrogant, clueless-about-the-real-world people in general. If medical schools actually cared about fulfilling the primary practitioner shortage they'd focus on expanding class sizes, allowing for people who don't spend every minute of their time volunteering and studying, and cut out the unneeded crap from the curriculum. Instead they shame people into their schools just to line the administrative staffs' pockets with inflated tuition figures. Idealists like Goro piss me off, and I will pledge myself to going after these crooked institutions and the hacks who run them.

Literally saw a shirt on a UMiami law student that said "Making Doctors pay for the last 25 years" just felt like sharing....what a mentality.

Where can I get one of these?

 

[atomheart]

Your bitterness reached back 9 years. This is a case study on the effects of could-a-been syndrome.

 

[Osminog]

I've decided to go to law school over any healthcare field because I've pretty much had it with the bullcrap stemming from academia; specifically the idealist and arrogant attitudes stemming from faculty. I've come to realize that the majority of professors have no market value outside of academia, they hold themselves in super high regards despite nobody outside of academia having any need for them, and they come off as arrogant, clueless-about-the-real-world people in general. If medical schools actually cared about fulfilling the primary practitioner shortage they'd focus on expanding class sizes, allowing for people who don't spend every minute of their time volunteering and studying, and cut out the unneeded crap from the curriculum. Instead they shame people into their schools just to line the administrative staffs' pockets with inflated tuition figures. Idealists like Goro piss me off, and I will pledge myself to going after these crooked institutions and the hacks who run them.

Do you realize that law school faculty are just as "idealist [sic] and arrogant" as medical school faculty, if not more so? Most of your complaints about medical education actually apply to a much greater extent to legal education.

Anyway, sorry that you didn't make the cut, sport. Best of luck in the oversaturated legal job market.