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http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/100404/04viewrudnicki.html
Don't let a trial lawyer become vice president
By JANUSZ RUDNICKI, M.D.
(Original publication: October 4, 2004)
". . . right now I feel her, I feel her presence. She's inside me and
she's talking to you . . ."
Those are the words of John Edwards, a plaintiff attorney, addressing
a jury during a 1985 malpractice trial on behalf of a brain-damaged
infant. Soon afterwards, wiping tears off their faces, a North
Carolina jury returned a record-setting verdict.
There is no denying the tremendous success of Mr. Edwards in the field
of medical malpractice and personal injury law. His summations were
legendary, his pleas were heart-wrenching, and his performances worthy
of the best Broadway stages. He expanded the field by convincing the
juries that hospitals should be held liable, even if they did not
employ the doctors on trial. He brought in $150 million in awards, of
which he kept approximately one-third.
His favorite and most lucrative cases involved cerebral palsy and
other forms of brain damage. The impact of a disabled child on a jury
is immense. By exploiting the emotions of the jurors and employing
"junk science" to blame the doctors, brain injury cases became
slam-dunk moneymakers for the plaintiffs. The existence of at least
two decades of solid scientific evidence was systematically suppressed
and ignored in the courtrooms of North Carolina and the rest of the
country. After all, science is dry, objective and unfeeling, easily
trumped by passion and empathy, especially when the dead and disabled
speak to us through the golden tongue of a malpractice lawyer.
The personal injury litigation industry, often dubbed "Trial Lawyers
Inc.", is a corporate powerhouse, having earned $40 billion in the
last 12 months. That's twice what companies like Coca-Cola, Microsoft
and Halliburton generate, and with substantially higher profit margin.
This kind of industry, since it's built largely on abuse of the legal
system, needs reliable political protection. Trial Lawyers Inc. is the
largest political contributor in the country, with over 90 percent
going to the Democratic Party.
John Edwards is their marquee player and all-around golden boy. It's
been reported that 19 of his top 20 donors are trial lawyers, that 86
percent of his Senate contributions came from personal-injury firms,
and that during the campaign he tooled around in no fewer than four
private jets owned by his lawyer friends.
But the money was well-invested: John Edwards delivered. During his
only term in the Senate (with virtually no chance for re-election), he
was instrumental in defeating the 2003 medical malpractice reform
bill. He also voted against class-action reforms, against solutions to
the asbestos crisis, even against proposed limitations in personal
injury cases resulting from a terrorist attack. Trial Lawyers Inc.
surely got their jet-fuel money's worth.
It is feasible that John Edwards could become vice president a
heartbeat away from the No. 1 job. He would be a shoo-in for the
nomination in 2008 or 2012. Just imagine what this could mean,
Malpractice abuse is the most urgent problem facing doctors, nurses,
hospitals and patients as well. Physicians are quitting their jobs
(quite a few from the ranks of Putnam Hospital), patients are viewed
with suspicion and many are denied treatment. Costs are stratospheric.
We face these very issues every day at work, virtually every hour. It
is a nightmare.
Like most physicians, I have never in my life been involved in the
political process except for pulling the lever in November. However, I
feel I must appeal to you: Do not allow John Edwards to be elected.
Any doctor, nurse or technician voting for this ticket in 2004 is akin
to a French aristocrat supporting Robespierre or a Russian businessman
aligning himself with Lenin. If you have no stomach for the opposing
team, I would contradict my natural democratic instinct by beseeching
you to sit this one out! Do not allow Mr. Edwards and Trial Lawyers
Inc. to continue destroying the American health-care system.
(The writer, a Goldens Bridge resident, is chairman of the OB/GYN
Department, Putnam Hospital, Carmel.)
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On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 13:09:55 +0000, carlleigh@hotmail.com wrote:
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/12393.html
<snip>
America's Medical Liability Crisis Backgrounder
North Carolina
The annual number of settlements greater than $1 million for medical
liability cases has more than tripled between 1993 and 2002 from 6 to 19.
(N.C. Lawyer's Weekly)
N.C. Lawyers Weekly reports that the largest medical liability verdicts
and settlements have increased significantly over the last decade. The
average large medical liability recovery has increased 74% from $1,990,000
in 1992 to $3,480,000 in 2002. (North Carolina Medical Society)
Hospitals in North Carolina have had insurance premiums go up 400 percent
to 500 percent in the past three years, the North Carolina Medical Society
says. Small, rural hospitals were hit hardest. (Winston-Salem Journal,
March 9, 2004)
Liability insurance premiums for North Carolina neurosurgeons increased by
50 percent between 2000 and 2002, according to the American Association of
Neurological Surgeons. (Winston-Salem Journal, March 9, 2004)
Obstetricians and trauma surgeons in Western North Carolina are seeing
increases in their professional liability insurance rates as high as
50-100 percent, according to Dr. Hal Lawrence, director of the Mountain
Area Health Education Center's Women's Health Center. (Ashville
Citizen-Times, Feb. 8, 2003)
"If we remain in North Carolina we will likely be forced to make the
decision to limit procedures which carry high risks (but also are often
life-saving)," said K. Stuart Lee, M.D. of Eastern Neurosurgical and Spine
Associates Inc. Dr. Lee's practice saw their medical liability premiums
increase 116 percent last year. (The News and Observer, Jan. 26, 2003)
Women's Care, P.A., the largest independent Ob-gyn physician group in
North Carolina, saw its medical liability insurance premiums increase 30
percent in 2003 for almost three times less coverage. One of its
obstetricians will soon stop delivering babies, and others are considering
following his example, according to the group's corporate director.
Limiting non-economic damages in North Carolina could reduce overall
health care costs by 5-9% through reductions in defensive medicine. A 5%
reduction in N.C. Medicaid expenditures would save $270 million per year.
(North Carolina Medical Society)
<snip>
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?
Page=%5C%5CCulture%5C%5Carchive%5C%5C200402%5C%5CCUL20040210a.html
<snip>
John Edwards 'Increased the Cost of Medicine', Former Associate Says By
Marc Morano
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
February 10, 2004
(CNSNews.com) - A former North Carolina obstetrician who served as an
expert witness and consultant to Sen. John Edwards during his days as a
trial lawyer, now accuses the Democratic presidential candidate of
increasing the cost of medicine and forcing doctors into retirement in the
senator's home state.
"What he has done with those lawsuits is increased the cost of medicine,
and he has not changed the practice of medicine in a way that you can see
that there are fewer cases of cerebral palsy," William Brannan said in an
interview with CNSNews.com.
<snip>
Remember Kerry is a lawyers also. We all know lawyers are good at
prevarication. Don't put two of them in the most important jobs in the
nation.
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