One Injustice after Another
I’m sorry, but I can’t be silent. I just can’t.
Yesterday, my dear friend Dr. Flea took down his blog, and is retreating from the medical blogosphere. Anyone who’s read Flea knows that he is a passionate, caring person. He throws himself heart and soul into whatever he does. His blog had no details identifying him - or his patients - but now its gone.
Today, another friend, Fat Doctor, felt compelled to do the same thing, when a coworker printed out her blog, and presented FD’s boss with it. He was kind and understanding, telling her that he wouldn’t interfere, but she was so hurt that she took it down anyway.
I want to know why!!! Why would people do something like that? Jealousy on the one hand? Perhaps greed on the other? Maybe it’s the feeling of being able to wield some sort of power over another person by being able to hurt them where they’re tender?
Why is it that those who belong to the profession noted for its service to suffering humanity are not allowed to be tired, have lives of their own, have occasional bad days, not feel well, be in a bad mood, make mistakes, have personal worries, or maintain a blog? Even an anonymous blog?
We live in an age that ridicules all good things. People have become so selfish and self centered that they immediately suspect anyone who appears to care about them. “Ah! He’s a doctor! He only wants me to go see him so he can pay off his Mercedes!” Are we so jaded that we have to snuff out every altruistic thought that has the temerity to appear naked before us?
Aren’t we aware that our physicians are human beings who deserve the same freedoms the rest of us enjoy? Freedom to blog anonymously … freedom to express their opinions publicly … freedom to have something to relax into at the end of a long, harrowing day?
Do we have to take every good thing we find and abuse it until it becomes as bent and twisted as we are?
I hope that both of my friends can come back into the medical blogosphere soon … and that whatever madness is going around dies down quickly!
What goes around, comes around. We’d do well to remember that when taking aim at those who spend their lives in service to others. Not too many of us will go through life without needing to rely on these very same people. Let’s hope that when that time comes, there are are still a few left out there who are willing to take the heat.
Vanishing Bloggers:
- One Injustice after Another
- Since When … ?
- Another One Bites the Dust
- Contacts!
May 16th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Moof,
I was so shocked to see that our friend, Flea had taken down his blog. Wow…and although I am not familiar with Fat Doctor’s blog, the fact that someone she knows would be so malicious and do something so mean spirited just completely baffles me. As the wife of a surgeon, I can tell you there are many folks out there who forget that physicians have lives outside of their work. Practicing medicine in any capacity is draining and those who take care of others NEED a life….need outlets to express themselves. Otherwise, they would fail to maintain a sense of self, family, and sanity. Oh, and last time I checked, we still do live in America….I believe free speech is a right we all have. And that right certainly should apply to our physicians. I hope that Flea reconsiders….his writing, his thoughts, his topics…all passionate, well thought out and certainly appreciated by his readers.I will miss him terribly.
May 16th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
As only a casual reader of both of your blogs, I’d assumed a bandwidth problem or similar with Flea’s blog. Here’s to hoping he’ll be back online soon.
May 16th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Appreciate your support, Moof. Still trying to get my bearings back. Need to process this betrayal for a bit. Have heard now from 100 people who want to know when I start a blog again (albeit a different name!), and from a few who told me that they had used the clues in my blog to do a search and figure out exactly what my name is, who I’m married to, where I work and live. Creeeeeepy! Makes me wonder if blogging is just too, too dangerous. Will likely need to lean on you some more, friend. Thanks.
May 16th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Moof, thank you for putting up this post. I’m more sorry than I can say to lose such a passionate and thoughtful blogger, with a tremendous knowledge of his field.
Other issues aside, it seems as if the bloggers who were nominated by Fox as worth watching a while ago have come in for especial scrutiny and criticism. Dr. A. went through some nasty times. For a variety of reasons, Neonatal Doc. is in hiatus and now Dr. Flea.
Fat Doctor - I was only an occasional visitor to your blog but I enjoyed your writing and the vignettes of your life. I’m so sorry that this has happened to you.
Be well, Moof.
Regards - Shinga
May 16th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
It’s a shame that people feel the need to be so mean spirited to some of the people we should really appreciate the most.
My thoughts are with them.
May 16th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
Thanks Moof for supporting us when we are attacked, and feel we are harmed. We can defend ourselves, but may find it unworthy to respond. I may be naive or stupid in having used my name and mentioned personal experiences, but I can, so far, defend myself. By blog’s title has used falsely by hundreds, but others have protected from publication. Reasons for my own have not having blogged since my last comment.
May 16th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
[…] One Injustice after Another - Moof. […]
May 17th, 2007 at 4:42 am
We live in a “ME” society, which should be a “WE” society.
We think only of the ‘me’; how will this benefit ‘me’? What will this situation give “me”.
We need to focus more on our communities at large, rather than the individuals in it; and we need to stop being so selfish and power-hungry as to feel some morbid sense of pride of being able to figure out who a certain blogger is. I mean, come on people. Seriously, people that seek out, looking for “clues” in blogs to find out the “real” person behind them have way too much time on their hands. I couldn’t care less where someone is; though if they’re nearby it’d be great to get together for lunch but aside from that, I don’t care and I don’t feel the need to know.
So it’s just so frustrating and mind boggling that someone, or some people, would find great pleasure in snooping to such an extent that would cause someone to remove part of their enjoyment in life.
Disgusting.
:(
May 17th, 2007 at 6:23 am
To Fat Doctor, I know you don’t know me, and I am not familiar with your blog, but when I read what has happened with you it made my blood boil! Don’t let them win! It had to have been done purely out of jealousy, and from someone with hate in their heart. You go in with a smile and DO NOT let them win. I’m so sorry to you.
(People have become so selfish and self centered that they immediately suspect anyone who appears to care about them.) This statement from Moof hit me where I live. I came on after the NT incident. It’s been hard to let people know who I am in spirit. The two people probably hurt the worst from this NT, are the two people that gave me a chance and befriended me, even feeling leary and unsure from wounds so fresh.
Those two people are Moof and Flea. I think now, they know they have made a good choice, and I hope my coming on has afforded both of them some healing…to see, that not everyone will take advantage of those with a heart, and that some are who they say they are.
I’ve been misunderstood, even joking around on Rob’s site recently. The good people need to stick together. As Clark said, text is hard to convey yourself in. We need to be good to each other and understanding of one another and all each has going on in their lives. Sorry, so long Moof. Just wanting to see people sticking together and not being picked apart.
May 17th, 2007 at 8:14 am
Dr. Flea took down his blog because his lawsuit did not go his way - after all of Dr. Flea’s sneering and condescension, his blog has be relegated to the ash heap of medical negligence. R.I.P. :O)
May 17th, 2007 at 9:10 am
Nathan from New Hampshire (or is it Massachusetts?), you must be a lawyer. Can’t imagine how I’d guess that. Who else would come into a blog they don’t normally follow just to drop a load of trash?
I’m not deleting your message, because I want everyone who comes here to see just how low and mean spirited you - and your ilk - can be.
Like any human being, Flea may have made a mistake - I don’t know, since I don’t know the details. However I’m sure that you take your own pants off one leg at a time, and you’re not immune from making mistakes, either. The difference is that when you make a mistake, you don’t make quite as much money as you would have otherwise - because you went into a profession that’s known for serving itself first. Flea, and others like him, took some real risks, and went into a profession that’s known for serving others first. And you people are the bloodsuckers feeding off from them whenever something goes wrong, or a mistake is made.
Flea is a friend - a personal friend. I won’t have anyone dissing him on my blog. Take your venomous gloating elsewhere. I’m warning anyone else who wants to leave that sort of comment on this post, or anywhere else on my blog - I will delete it. You’re wasting your time.
This blog is not a “democracy.”
May 17th, 2007 at 10:15 am
Hi Moof and all:
We’re all poorer for the losses of Neonatal Doc, NeonatalNurseChic, Barbados Butterfly, Flea, Barbados Butterfly and Fat Doctor to the blogosphere.
But commenters like Nathan are only the tip of the iceberg. I’ve been stalked from ‘net into real life, and I continue to pay a very real and frightening price for that which is permanent. Fat Doctor said that she, too has been tracked.
There are even medical bloggers who stalk and write boscene things about other bloggers and commenters. Scalpel has compared me, for instance, to a gynecologic infection, and Shadowfax, the owner of the blog where he wrote that, among other things, let it stay there.
Where there is someone who shares vulnerability, generosity and risk in thinking, there will be predators who are more than ready to prey.
My guess is that more and more female bloggers will take their blogs private, and that more and more healthcare provider bloggers may do the same. I don’t think there is true free speech anymore, because that demands reasonable people making reasonable responses - not stalkers and predators lurking, stroking at will.
May 17th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Perceived power, especially perceived power by the otherwise impotent is, to me, because I’ve seen it in action, the key to the issue here, I think. How very sad that such people are able to manipulate in harmful ways.
Ian
May 17th, 2007 at 10:58 am
SO many blog pals have taken their sites down or closed their shops for the same reasons. I will miss Flea and Dr. F as I do my other blogpals that have left the blogosphere.
May 17th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Well said Moofie, Go get ‘em girl!!
May 17th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Glad to see I’m not the only one unhappy about these developments… Now, I don’t know any of these guys personally, but I will certainly miss reading the blogs of Flea, Fat Doctor, and Neonatal Doc… I am a huge fan of some of the medical blogosphere, and think it’s a terrible shame what people will do to others who dare to expose even a little bit (or much) of their life in a blog in order to educate, entertain, or enlighten others. Yes, doing so always involves some degree of risk, but this situation is getting ridiculously out of hand. It doesn’t say much about some segments of humanity, IMHO. What a shame.
May 17th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
All of this goings on is so terribly disturbing…..I don’t even know what to say….I have gone over to the new site for Dr. A et al….looks like it is going to be fun….
Cheers my friend
May 18th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
I just was over at Musings of a Distractible Mind, and darn if there isn’t a comment saying that Dr. Dork closed up shop - sure enough, he’s gone private, too.
May 20th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Perhaps the whole freedom of communication thing is merely a farce. At least in the country that proclaims “liberty and freedom” to all. Developing countries are far better, it seems. At least in this part of the world, we do not have our words monitored and curbed. While the more stiff-collared/old-fashioned professionals believe that blogging is a waste of time, they can (and will) do nothing to prevent YOU from writing.
May 21st, 2007 at 1:00 am
[…] One Injustice after Another, Since when… […]
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:38 am
I understand how you feel, Moof (and others.) But here’s another way to look at it that may offer (a little) comfort, and perhaps some hope.
May 28th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
I loved your comment to that Moof.
May 31st, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Oops, I just wrote a long message and lost it. My apologies if my thoughts appear twice. I read about Dr. flea in today’s paper [The Boston Globe, May 31, p. 1] and Googled his blog to see if anything was still up. I think I can understand the friendship and sense of loss so many of you express. Certainly mistakes happen, and certainly there are differences of opinion in malpractice cases - -hence the need for jury trials such as his. I gather he is a man of great brilliance and wit. But a 12 year old child who was his patient is dead and I would have hoped for some reflection, grace, and humility on his part whatever the progress of the trial. Instead, facing the child’s family every day in court I gather he chose to blog his ridicule of the opposing lawyer, etc. And yes, that picture is seriously creepy.
May 31st, 2007 at 7:57 pm
Hayden … I suppose you must have been at Dr. Flea’s trial … ? Or are you just accepting at face value what you’ve read elsewhere? Do you know that Dr. Flea was not reflective … humbled? Did you even read his blog before any of this happened?
Do you even know Flea?
I’m sure you’ve also never had a photo taken of you that didn’t come out perfect … right? Imagine what it must feel like to have someone judge you on something like that …
Heaven forbid that we have physicians who are human, and also don’t take perfect photos! It must certainly mean that they’re negligent with their patients, and don’t care if something happens to one of them.
Hayden, I almost deleted your comment, but then I decided to leave it up. It really frightens me to realize that this is the depth through which we view our fellow man.
And for record, I know Dr. Flea, and he’s both kind, and handsome. But even more importantly, he’s a passionate physician who puts his care for his patients above his own well being.
I bet you won’t see that on any of those newspaper articles or lawyer’s blogs.
June 2nd, 2007 at 1:07 am
Moof, you do know that lawyers represent people don’t they? That these are people who are often in very bad circumstances as a result of the actions of another? That the last thing these people want to do is be in that situation, or have to consult a lawyer to help them?
Do you ever think about them when you accuse lawyers of not serving others? Have you ever sat across from someone who owns a business needs you to file suit against one of his customers who hasn’t paid resulting in him being in financial straights? Ever sat across from the owner of a home whose general contractor pissed away all the money and didn’t pay the subs and now they are filing liens? Ever helped a battered woman get a protective order and get away from an abusive husband? Ever prosecuted a sex offender? Ever defended someone wrongly accused? You think when a lawyer makes a mistake, it doesn’t eat at them? That they don’t have sleepless nights? That they’re not at risk to be sued themselves?
Flea may have been a wonderful person, in fact, probably was. He was certainly a good writer. But he also may very well have made a grievous error in treating that child. And all of the good intentions in the world shouldn’t shelter him from the consequences of that error. At the end of the day, we don’t know, because HE made a conscious choice to settle his case without allowing all the facts to be heard. That’s no one else’s choice but his, and you demonizing a whole profession doesn’t change that fact. After all, like you said, you don’t know the details of his case.
It frightens me to realize the depth of hate you have for a whole group of people because of a job they do which you barely understand and have little concept of what goes into it.
June 2nd, 2007 at 1:52 am
Your comment lacks credibility, “Anon.” Are you afraid to put your name behind your statements?
I’ve dealt with quite a few lawyers, in different ways, in my lifetime. For your information, I have been the battered woman who needed a protective order …
And I have also seen a dear friend accused of being a sex offender, and imprisoned - when he was innocent. How do I know he was innocent? Because I was there. However, through crocodile tears, smelling like whiskey, this innocent man’s lawyer told all of us to not volunteer any information, and then never asked any of us a single question that would have exonerated my friend.
Anon, you don’t know me, or you would know that it’s not people I hate - and certainly not “classes of people.” What I hate are injustice and lies. And I’m angry at those who wear fancy suits and make a living out of twisting the truth to serve their purpose … and winning a case rather than seeking justice. I don’t have to “demonize a whole profession,” Anon, the profession seems to be doing that quite well on its own.
I’m angry because over the last 30 years or more, I’ve learned that our system of justice is a mockery, and I’m ashamed for all of our sakes.
And you, who do not know me, and are so brave that you called yourself “Anon,” whatever else you are, you are also arrogant. You have no idea what I know, and what I don’t. Your condescension is amazing. You come across like a lawyer.
I don’t need a degree in law to see the impact that our litigation happy country is having on healthcare. It frightens me to realize that someone who supposedly has a “concept of what goes into it” would deliberately continue to do what they’re doing.
June 2nd, 2007 at 1:25 pm
I’m sorry that your anger is so pervasive that it blocks out the humanity of those of us who are writing here. Trust us, we all have heart-breaking, frustrating, infuriating tales of rampant and willful injustice; you are not alone, and should not feel you need to assume negative motives in those of us who’d like to examine a question from many different directions. I’d say blogs are at their best when they reflect a mix of thought and passionate emotion, and allow for respectful disagreement from time to time. I certainly never intended to insult anyone but I’ll stick to my position that it does a pediatrician no honor to use a trial brought about by the death of a child as an opportunity to blog crude, sexist, frat-boy humor along with snide explanations of trial tactics. I’m not a doctor or lawyer although I have a considerable number of both in my immediate and extended family, and appreciate that when the chips are down, those are the people you want on your side. Also, the term Anon can, of course, also mean “until later.”
June 2nd, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Hayden, I’m sorry, but statements like:
… are not what I’m angry at. I was actually embarrassed for you when I read that. I couldn’t believe what a shallow view you were presenting, especially added to the fact that, by your own description, you were going on hearsay!
I notice that you are an “Anonymouse” too … there seems to be a bit of sniping from the shadows going on. When I leave a comment on someone’s blog, whether I disagree with them or not, I sign my name to it, because it’s the honest thing to do. I not only sign my name, I use my real email address, and my blog address.
If you want to “examine a question from many different directions,” then at least come out of the shadows if you want to be taken seriously. There’s nothing worthy of respect from taking pot shots at people from dark corners.
June 2nd, 2007 at 2:49 pm
“Anon, you don’t know me, or you would know that it’s not people I hate - and certainly not “classes of people.” What I hate are injustice and lies.”
Your consistent damning of an entire profession says otherwise. Do you not find it unjust to damn people you’ve never met? Do you not find it to be a lie to accuse that whole profession of only acting in their own self interest? Tell that to the legal aid attorney making $25,000 a year. Or the attorneys volunteering through their local bar associations to help soldiers get their affairs in order before being shipped overseas?
I don’t know you at all - I only read what you write, and can only comment on that. And based on your writing - you have an irrational hate for a whole lot of people merely based on what they do for a living. Something that, again, based on your writing, you’ve dealt with maybe 5 times in your whole life, and only seen a fraction of the whole case in those instances.
I’m not being condescending at all - I’m simply pointing out the rather obvious fact that you really don’t know that much about what lawyers do. I would hope you wouldn’t be so arrogant as to think you do.
“I don’t need a degree in law to see the impact that our litigation happy country is having on healthcare. It frightens me to realize that someone who supposedly has a “concept of what goes into it” would deliberately continue to do what they’re doing.”
Our “litigation happy country”? Perhaps, but did you know the biggest growth in litigation is businesses suing businesses? Injured people suing those who caused their injuries has been declining for years. Do you want lawyers to stop representing people who have been injured by another’s negligence? Is that offensive to you?
June 2nd, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Anon, if the legal system cared about the injustices produced by the legal system, the legal system would do something about it. The fact is, the majority of lawyers don’t care, the majority of judges don’t care, the majority of legislators don’t care. If they did care, they would do something about it.
Maybe “all lawyers” are not bad, maybe there are a few good ones. Unfortunately, the legal system isn’t set up to ensure justice, it is set up to provide income for lawyers and special laws for special interests.
Don’t shed crocodile tears and pretend that lawyers help people receive “justice”. The way the legal system is set up, as an adversarial system, is akin to trial by combat with the two lawyers being the hired champions. Any tactic or strategum that is “legal”, is fair game, and a “good lawyer” has to use it to help their client “win”, irrespective of the facts, the law, or what would be a “just” decision. If you can trick the jury, the judge, or the opposing lawyer (without “actually” lying), that is just “good lawyering”.
That the legal system may result in a just verdict occasionally is a coincidence, an unplanned side effect. When neither of the two lawyers are looking for “justice”, only a win for their client, why should anyone expect “justice” to prevail?
If “we all have heart-breaking, frustrating, infuriating tales of rampant and willful injustice”, then WTF is the so called “system of justice” doing about it? I will tell you what the “legal system” is doing about it, absofuckinglutelynothing! Shedding crocodile tears and whining that “all of us face injustice” is a fucking load of crap.
“All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke
So what are all those “good lawyers” and “good judges”, and “good legislators” doing about it? Absofuckinglutelynothing!
sorry moof for my strong language.
June 2nd, 2007 at 6:15 pm
Hi,
I’m not a blogger and don’t really know the “rules of the road.” I read the article about Dr. Flea and googled his name out of curiosity. I don’t know one blog from another and following links landed on one connected with Dr.Flea that included a photo of a tattooed man standing in deep water. Someone else discussing the case had made that comment about the photo and I was just seconding the motion with a wink. I guess the links took me father afield than I realized. Your page seemed interesting and I chimed in. I really just used the form at the bottom and assumed people used screen names. My apologies for all my mistakes. I do have to say that as a complete novice to the blogosphere I don’t feel particularly welcomed - - you folks play rough. So I’ll chalk this all up to my learning curve and stick with e-mail. I meant no harm and certainly wish you the best.
June 2nd, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Me again. Scrolling up this page I see that everybody uses a screen name. The Leave A Reply form doesn’t suggest otherwise and that’s the only way I see here to add a comment.
June 2nd, 2007 at 8:54 pm
Hayden
Flea was an MD, who blogged, and won an award as the best blogger of the year. Many people read his blogs, and got a lot out of them. He was sued (in real life) for malpractice, the circumstances of which remain mostly unknown. He blogged about it, and apparently didn’t tell his legal team about his blogging. The blog disappeared. The plaintiff’s legal team found out, and questioned him about his blog. Court adjourned, the case settled, why, how, etc, remain unknown.
The speculation among the lawyers was that Flea was a complete idiot to blog about his malpractice trial, and that it would be used against him, no ifs, ands or buts.
The non-lawyers were like “huh? What does his blog have to do with the malpractice case?” “How is that relevant?”
The lawyers were like “it shows he was reckless, flippant, stupid, arrogant, obviously not a “good person”, obviously doesn’t care about his patients, obviously he should be crucified”.
The non-lawyers were like “huh?”, “it was a blog”, “obviously fictionalized, obviously written to be fun to read, obviously not a verbatim under oath report of his medical life”, “how is this evidence in the malpractice case?”, “what did it have to do with the malpractice case?”
The lawyers were like “it doesn’t matter what the facts are, if plaintiff’s lawyer can spin his blog into a story that impugns his character and paints him as a bad man, then plaintiff’s lawyer can, and will, and should do so.” Any “good lawyer” could, and would, and should do the same.”
The non-lawyers are like “huh? how is that justice?”
The lawyers are like “huh? That is exactly what justice is, who ever “wins”, is right and justice is served”. Isn’t our legal system great, everyone can get just as much “justice” as they want to hire lawyers to get. Flea didn’t need to settle, he could have gone through the trial and seen what the jury would have decided. Of course no one could predict what that would be because it depends on the whim of the judge, the artfulness of the arguments, and how much the artful arguments affect the whims of the jury. How much the jury believes Flea is a bad and evil man, and how much they want to punish him for being so evil and bad and arrogant and callous toward the poor parents who lost their child by being so flip as to write a funny blog while the parents were steeped in misery from the loss of their child.
Many doctor blogs have now disappeared. There is no upside to medical blogging, only downsides. No matter how much it benefits the community; there are “good lawyers” who will use it to get “justice” for their clients.
I have posted a blog about my perspective.
June 3rd, 2007 at 12:43 am
Hayden, most of the more damning criticism has come from other doctors. And apparently one person who Flea personally insulted on his blog. That person is positively gleeful, but I believe they are a colleague of his, or the spouse of a colleague.
Most of the lawyers blogging have withheld any personal damning of Flea, other than to say that it was foolish not to tell his lawyer. The first rule of having a lawyer is don’t hide anything from them if it even might be vaguely relevant. And talking about trial strategy during the trial in a public forum with a poorly disguised pseudonym is undoubtedly relevant.
There is no reason for doctor blogs to disappear at all. Unless, as is the case with the majority of the ones that have, their employers want them gone. And the employers have not said why. So blaming that on lawyers makes little sense, and is not supported by the facts.
June 3rd, 2007 at 12:46 am
“Anon, if the legal system cared about the injustices produced by the legal system, the legal system would do something about it.”
What are you talking about? What are these injustices you refer to? As for not caring, I know of no other profession which uses its dues to create a fund for those injured by its members negligence. Do doctors do that?
” Any tactic or strategum that is “legal”, is fair game, and a “good lawyer” has to use it to help their client “win”, irrespective of the facts, the law, or what would be a “just” decision. If you can trick the jury, the judge, or the opposing lawyer (without “actually” lying), that is just “good lawyering”.”
Spoken like someone who has never tried a case. If you can trick that many people, plus the appellate courts, well you’ve probably figured out you can make a heck of a lot more money in advertising!
Clearly, Daedalus, you’ve got a personal beef which has little to do with the overall justice system other than you possibly were held accountable for some choices you made and don’t like it. I wish you luck with that.
June 3rd, 2007 at 11:55 am
Anon, so what are the people who run this dry cleaners supposed to do?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/25/AR2007042502763_pf.html
You don’t have to “trick” everyone, you just need to make the cost to your opponent so high that they decide it is cheaper to settle than to continue. BFD if the dry cleaners eventually “win” and don’t have to pay $65,000,000.00. If it only costs them a couple hundred thousand in legal fees, they have “won”, and it is the “principle” that counts, right? Never mind that it bankrupts them.
The “injustices” I was refering to were cited by another poster, Hayden, who said “Trust us, we all have heart-breaking, frustrating, infuriating tales of rampant and willful injustice”.
Do physicians do pro bono care? Why, yes they do.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/461567_4
“found that 77% of a national sample of 10,881 physicians provided some charity care in the prior month, and the average amount of time spent on such care was 10.3 hours per week.”
It seems surprising that you are completely ignorant of uncompensated care by physicians (well, actually not, in typical legal-weasle-wording you limited it to “a profession that uses its dues to create a fund for those injured by its members negligence”).
Do you spend 10.3 hours per week on pro bono work? Or do you donate 10.3/(total work week) worth of income for pro bono legal work, or to compensate parties injured by lawyer negligence?
What exactly is the “lawyer negligence” that bar association dues so generously compensate?
If we look at this:
http://www.montanabar.org/bar/lawfundforclientprotectqa.html
What lawyer behavior can be compensated?
“An application to receive Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection reimbursement may be filed by any person who has lost money because of the dishonest conduct or mishandling of funds by a Montana lawyer provided that (1) the accused attorney has died, been judged mentally incompetent, found guilty of a crime arising out of the dishonest conduct, relinquished practice, or has been disbarred or suspended; (2) the dishonest act occurred within an attorney-client relationship; (3) the alleged act was the mishandling or embezzling of funds, not malpractice or negligence; and (4) the claimant has made a reasonable attempt to recover from the lawyer within a reasonable amount of time.”
Oh, but this doesn’t cover “malpractice” or “negligence”. What about other state bar associations?
http://www.wsba.org/media/publications/pamphlets/client-protections-about.htm
Nope, “The Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection cannot compensate you for losses caused by a lawyer’s malpractice”. “The fund cannot compensate you for damages such as lost interest, attorney fees you paid in attempting to recover the lost money, or other consequential or punitive damages.”
How about this?
http://www.abanet.org/cpr/clientpro/history.html
They only say that “Every U.S. jurisdiction now has a fund to compensate clients for financial loss resulting from their lawyer’s dishonesty.”
Hmmm, A double standard? When you say “Lawyer negligence” what you really mean is “lawyer dishonesty”. When you say “physician negligence”, what do you actually mean?
So would the dry cleaners be able to get compensation from a “fund for those injured by its members negligence”? Not a chance in the world.
June 3rd, 2007 at 6:35 pm
“If it only costs them a couple hundred thousand in legal fees, they have “won”, and it is the “principle” that counts, right? Never mind that it bankrupts them”
Again, where does this hundreds of thousands for this defense come from? Certainly not someone who has ever tried a case. Even med mal insurers will tell you at most that it takes just less than $100K to take one of those to trial, and that’s assuming a significant sum in expert witness fees and several lawyers on the case. You’re claims lose validity when you make up numbers.
As for what it covers - does ANY other profession even have such a fund? For malpractice, they carry liability coverage. Just like everyone else.
You’re right, though, I misspoke when I said negligence - I should have been more specific - it is intentional theft of client funds and similar offenses regarding trust accounts.
June 5th, 2007 at 11:52 am
Yes Anon, your claims certainly do lose credibility when you confuse intentional theft with negligence. Or is that just a habit left over from “good lawyering”?
Does any other professional organization have such a problem with its members intentionally stealing from their clients that they need such a fund?
You should point out that in the lawyers’ case the fund is no where near adequate to compensate even the cash money that was intentionally stolen, and does nothing what so ever to compensate consequential injury?