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Physician Apologies

11/30/08 · 5:25 pm :: posted by CCToday     

Physician Apologies

By Bruce Bierhans

The Cape Cod Times recently published an editorial supporting an evidentiary change making physician apologies inadmissable at trial. The following is a copy of my Letter to the Editor, published a few days later.

"The Cape Cod Times Nov.22 editorial "When doctors fail" reflects a basic lack of understanding regarding our civil justice system and the rights of victims to be compensated for acts of negligence.

"Your Nov.22 editorial "When doctors fail" reflects a basic lack of understanding regarding our civil justice system and the rights of victims to be compensated for acts of negligence.

To support your position for an evidentiary change making physician apologies inadmissable at trial, you resort to utilizing figures provided by a physicians "tort reform" (substitute the words "deprive patients of their rights") organization. You ignore the many studies conducted by other organizations such as Public Citizen that indicate that malpractice premiums have risen because of poor financial investments made by liability insurers, not by runaway verdicts.

Our system is based upon the principle of accountability. A professional, whether attorney, physician, accountant or architect, should be held accountable to those who have sustained physical injury or economoc loss. "I'm sorry" is not an adequate response to a family that has lost a family member or a worker who can no longer work for a lifetime as the result of an act of carelessness.

If one adopts the theory espoused in your editorial perhaps we should also let the villians who created the subprime crisis and the resulting economic mess off after a simple "I'm sorry." I don't think so.

bruce_bierhans_143Attorney Bierhans has 26 years of experience trying cases in both business and personal injury law. He has been a dedicated advocate for "the little guy" in both areas of the law, perhaps as a result of his Bronx, NYC upbringing. He has been an officer in the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys and has lectured both locally and nationally on issues related to trial practice. He has an AV rating from Martindale , the highest national rating available. Attorney Bierhans has offices in Chatham, Wellfleet and Stoughton. See his website here.

13 comments
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11/30/08 @ 6:11 pm
think4urself [Member] writes:
The problem here is a system wherein the attorneys can find success in going after tangential parties with the deepest pockets. In the RI nightclub fire Budweiser was sued because their name appeared on promotional signs - come on now. IMHO: either cap the awards or change to loser pays or both.
 [ Show all comments by this user ]
11/30/08 @ 6:55 pm
crusader [Member] writes:
Docs also invest in pharmecuticals that can kill patients if family members are not strong advocates for their accountability. Another arena that begs heavy scrutiny. But lawyers and doctors have been at odds for decades. And threats of substandard healthcare if socialized medicine was to revolutionize the industry prevent affordable services. Just another vicious circle. A family member pays a fraction for drugs via internet from Canada since he lost his job and ins.benefits How much are their profits? More BS. Balance and reform. Docs should forfeit licenses if they are repeat offenders of negligence. But board of medicine protects them, even when they commit murder.
 [ Show all comments by this user ]
11/30/08 @ 7:37 pm
Buzz [Member] writes:
cru says: "Docs also invest in pharmecuticals that can kill patients"

I was wondering why doctors pursue a grueling 8 years in college, several more years of tireless training at low wages.... now we know. To invest in companies that can kill patients. God, how did she get so smart?
 [ Show all comments by this user ]
12/01/08 @ 11:22 am
quahog [Member] writes:
Next time you get sick, call a lawyer...
 [ Show all comments by this user ]
12/01/08 @ 11:22 am
j. madden [Member] writes:
Counsellor, you hit a nerve! You speak of "...the civil justice system and the rights of victims...." After years of deregulating and neutering the FDA to protect pharmaceutical companies from law suits for negligence, I thing your swinging at shadows. It's a "buyer beware" world when it comes to medical treatments. Take the example of bisphosphonates. A petite elderly person is advised to try Boniva and it nearly kills her - life as known ruined. No victim satisfaction in this case. Your profession won't touch the case unless the patient is young, a professional worker with significant earnings potential, and dead. I know, it's not your fault. The FDA in cooperation with the drug companies has made all the arrangements to frustrate and deny you any chance of winning justice for the injured in such a case. Ditto conditions in the financial industry where it has always been "buyer beware".
 [ Show all comments by this user ]
12/01/08 @ 4:27 pm
quahog [Member] writes:
Maybe we should just stop making medicines. If your own natural immune system and strength of constitution fail, TS.
 [ Show all comments by this user ]
12/02/08 @ 11:44 am
j. madden [Member] writes:
Quahog is right. Evidently some 62,040,609 other people share this point of view. There remain another 239,099,337 folks that might consider searching all available information on a prescribed drug before deciding to swallow. It’s because quahog is correct that caution is an imperative for the wise. The clarity and witticism of the quahog message will hopefully encourage research and careful thought about what’s prescribed. “The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” – Issac Asimov. www.askapatient.com is a public comment site on prescription drug use that can be helpful when considering possible drug side effects.
 [ Show all comments by this user ]
12/02/08 @ 11:52 am
Buzz [Member] writes:
Can't we just agree with scru? All drug companies are greedy killers.... despite how many lives they save each and every day. Despite how they make it possible for people to get through the day and enjoy a life they never knew possible without the medication.... nope, they are greedy, money sucking pigs trying to kill people. Did I mention the years of clinical trials to get FDA approval?
 [ Show all comments by this user ]
12/02/08 @ 1:03 pm
bittersweet [Member] writes:
Who pays for many of those trials? The tax-payers. Who reaps the profits?
On top of paying for the trials that get the drugs on the market, we are then sucked dry on the price.
And the FDA is a political organization. it can be bought!
Just ask Donald Rumsfeld, who was head of a company which later became Monsanto... thanks to his friend Reagan, he got aspartame onto the market. KNOWING that it was an exo-toxin and contained formaldehyde.
But geuss what? It was big bucks.
Just google aspartame, you will be shocked at what you discover.
(diet soda, sugar-free gum, etc)
 [ Show all comments by this user ]
12/02/08 @ 1:29 pm
Buzz [Member] writes:
bitter, you really should consider your sources.
From the American Council on Science and Health:

"In fact, aspartame, known as "NutraSweet" and "Equal," is safe. Aspartame is one of the most thoroughly tested substances in the U.S. food supply. Numerous authorities, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives of the FAO/WHO, the European Community, and the American Medical Association have concluded that aspartame is a safe product, except in the rare cases of phenylketonuria"
 [ Show all comments by this user ]
12/02/08 @ 1:31 pm
somebunny [Visitor] writes:
:-)
12/02/08 @ 4:31 pm
bittersweet [Member] writes:
They are lying. Just google aspartame and you will see.
And consider this:
Monday, November 24, 2008. Mike Adams, Natural News:
"The FDA, you see, is a criminal organization engaged in tactics of intimidation, censorship and oppression that can only be properly called "terrorism." Don't take my word for it, though: The FDA's own top scientists are now on the record saying much the same thing! Their complaint to Congress alleges top FDA managers "ordered, intimidated and coerced FDA experts to modify their scientific reviews, conclusions and recommendations in violation of the law.”
Congressman Dingle has filed a complaint on their behalf.
 [ Show all comments by this user ]
02/15/09 @ 10:05 am
bittersweet [Member] writes:
New Mexico Senate
Santa Fe, New Mexico

The Honorable Frank Torti, M.D. February 12, 2009
Acting Commissioner, United States Food and Drug Administration
5400 Fisher's Lane
Rockville, Maryland

Dear Dr. Torti:

I am the New Mexico sponsor of the enclosed Senate Memorial 9, 2009, asking the Food and Drug Administration to rescind its approval for the artificial sweetener, aspartame.

You may know that the FDA, to its credit, turned down G.D. Searle's application for aspartame's approval from 1966 to 1981, at which point, approval was forced through the FDA at the insistence fo Searle's CEO, Donald Rumsfeld.

Numerous physicians' petitions as well as many private petitions have been filed with FDA since 1981 asking for the rescinding of aspartame's approval. These have all been routinely ignored and responded to with industry assurance about how many industry financed "tests" aspartame has been through, all of which showed "aspartame to be safe."

Aspartame is really dangerous.
Don't believe their hype!
 [ Show all comments by this user ]
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