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y husband has suffered in too many ways to mention. He was and is a
chronic pain patient. He has neurological, etc. problems now which are
obvious to anyone, and I wont go into here who or what we think are
responsible for them.
To make a long story shorter, he had to hire an attorney who I will refer to
as A, and the firm A works for to get his medical records from a MD who
I will refer to as MD X, and others associated with MD X when they would
not send them all.
Attorney A wanted to see the ones they did send. Attorney A formerly
worked for the risk management division of a hospital. Attorney A says
that the approval of one of the law firms partners is needed to do
something called a contingency agreement. Attorney A talked to the
partner in the firm and told him just from the records A has seen that any
MD would be hard pressed to say you weren't on too much medication."
Attorney A told him that "the partner was very receptive and would move
him to the contingency agreement when he gets the certificate of merit."
Attorney A indicated they have an MD in another state that they use for
the certificate of merit, who is in the same field of practice, and would
send my husband to this MD. Attorney A said my husband has to pay for
this MD along with getting the medical records and associated costs.
There are a lot of tricky things MD X has done, along with Xs
associates, as well as other issues that my husband thinks need to be
addressed NOW because he thinks that evidence is disappearing with time. At
first Attorney A couldnt help him to word a response to a "draft" letter
of referral to a new MD that MD X wrote, which looks like was sent to my
husband for approval or something by MD X. This letter from MD X was
written with one false statement after another that MD X knows are false,
misleading, and partly true but also not true, and more. This letter should
have never been sent to my husband in the first place. My husband never
requested such a letter.
Attorney A told us that the reason Attorney A would not help us word a
response to this letter was because its a life issue." Attorney A made
this refusal statement before Attorney A had that "receptive" conversation
with As partner (as I referred to earlier). AFTER As receptive
conversation with the partner, A now wanted to help with us wording a
response to MD Xs so called "referral" draft letter. Another odd thing
that happened is that Attorney A had been planning to fax the response
letter to MD X on my husbands behalf. Then a couple of weeks later A
faxed the letter to us for our approval and then told US to go ahead and fax
the letter to MD X if we were satisfied with it but to first cut off the
top of the page that indicated that we had received the response letter via
fax from As law firm. I cant help but wonder why A decided not to fax
the letter for my husband and also decided that the letter shouldnt in
anyway indicate that it had come from As law firm.
My husband has a lot of trouble communicating and understanding things now.
And I can go completely absent minded and I cant explain why except for the
shock of watching whats happened to him, to our lives, and seeing how far
MDs will and are going to cover things up. They are altering information,
helping one another when they know the other MD, and, believe it or not,
even if they dont know the other MD in any way. MD X is rewriting my
husbands medical history over the phone too, which has everybody baffled.
There are other things too that are pretty hard to believe, that I would
have had a hard time believing before going through this. That is a shock
in itself.
Anyway I shouldn't be talking about me. Like I said, my husbands brain is a
mess, and he is trying to identify how and why miscommunication,
misunderstanding and other things occur when he talks. It seems like we are
making a 1 1/2 hour appointment or long phone conversation with Attorney A
every week or 2 because things either arent addressed in a way that my
husband understands or arent addressed in a way that is clear to us or is
to our satisfaction. Combine that with my husbands or my own inability to
comprehend what Attorney A is really saying with all that careful lawyerly
wording.
My husband asked if he could record his appointment to help him go over and
understand what was said in the appointment. Attorney A said that
question has never been asked, I will go check. Attorney A left the room
for a while then came back and said no one was around, they werent in
their offices but I checked and we are not comfortable with that.
There seems to be a lot of flip flopping going on with Attorney A. One
moment As giving the impression my husband has a good expectation of a
case and hes made to feel encouraged, the next time we talk to A the
wording and feeling of things seems to change as ewll as actions Evidently
you dont just need a certificate of merit against MD X or others, you
also need to prove the damage came from MD X. Keep in mind its obvious
to ANYONE something is very wrong with my husband in a major life disabling
way. Obvious to ANYONE! In a phone conversation I had with Attorney A
just prior to our last appointment, A tells me by phone theres another MD
they know who they want my husband to see now Its a forensic psychiatrist.
Attorney A said the words its the partners POLICY and that the partner
REQUIRES it for everybody. Attorney A let me know that my husband would
be responsible for the cost. Attorney A then wanted to set up an
appointment and asked what days are good and whats my husbands
schedule?
At our last appointment I asked if the forensic psychiatrist could issue a
certificate of merit. Attorney A told me no. I then said why cant he
get the certificate of merit first and then see the forensic psychiatrist?
I asked if this was needed legally before we can get a certificate of merit
or is it just a policy requirement of the firm. Attorney A responded by
saying Oh, you misunderstood. Its just something the partner suggested.
Its not a policy. I couldnt believe Attorney A said its not policy
when that was EXACTLY the word that was used the first time this issue was
discussed. That word along with the word requirement. I balked at it and
now its just a suggestion.
My husband started trying to ask A something that in hind sight to me
could have sounded like he was trying to ask A if a bare bones discovery
costs $20,000 of As money on contingency like A told him, and A only
gets a third of a judgment, what happens to the victim if an attorney
estimates total damages at $20,000 and would an attorney still take the
case; and that in the real world
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