Contributed by Rosie Cisneros
On June 13, 2004, USA Today reported that hospital administrators and doctors across the nation have begun “striking back against lawyers with hardball tactics that, in some cases, are raising ethical questions.”
According to the USA Today news story, “Some doctors are refusing to treat lawyers, their families and their employees, except in emergencies.” One doctor was quoted as saying that while the idea of refusing to treat lawyers “may be repulsive,” it is justified and necessary. As to whether the notion runs counter to the Hippocratic oath taken by doctors, the Charleston, S.C. surgeon, said, “Physicians are not bound to treat everybody who walks through their door.”
It is likely that the nationwide dispute between doctors and lawyers will grow increasingly bitter and, some might say, downright spiteful. Here are just a few examples of the trend as cited in the USA Today report:
One Texas medical center recently fired a highly-skilled nurse – despite a nationwide shortage of nursing help – because her husband works for a law firm that litigates medical malpractice cases. The fact that her husband practices in a different field of law made no difference. The hospital, according to the news story, has an “unwritten” rule of not employing spouses of lawyers who represent plaintiffs in medical malpractice or personal injury lawsuits “because of the perceived likelihood of a conflict of interest.”
Elsewhere in the country, a Texas radiologist attempted to discourage frivolous lawsuits by setting up a national database of patients and lawyers who have sued for malpractice. The site was shut down soon thereafter when some of those listed complained about having difficulty securing needed medical care.
Perhaps the best summation of what’s going on in medicine today was made by an emergency care physician, Dr. Bruce Bonanno, who warned that without tort reform, “The system’s going to die.” Another physician described the healthcare situation as “a ticking time bomb.”
The scariest scenario of all came last February when thousands of New Jersey doctors walked out of hospitals and closed down offices in support of tort reform legislation. The president-elect of the Camden County Medical Society said that this protest was just a “peek into the future” of what can be expected unless there is real tort reform.
His meaning was clear. Without tort reform and realistic limitations on malpractice liability, the outlook for healthcare in America is grim and growing grimmer.
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