For those who insist that the American jury system is simply pro-plaintiff, you need to look at the case of Lisa Strong, 44. The mother of two went to a hospital for kidney stones and ended up losing both her arms and legs. A jury in Fort Lauderdale, Florida rule in favor the defendant doctors and South Broward Hospital District across the board.
Strong went to the Memorial Hospital West in 2004 for the kidney stones and experienced what the doctors described as complications.
After the surgery, Strong had a series of heart attacks that restricted blood flow to her limbs.
For the full story, click here.
The evil done by the faux conservative movement lives on. Their demeaning of tort litigation has turned many people’s heads upside down when it comes to who they believe has equity in lawsuits. Years of watching propagandists, like John Stossel, has convinced them that the “poor” corporations are beleaguered by “frivolous” lawsuits. The question is how do we re-educate people as to the utility of the law to improve our lives and its’ centrality to maintaining our Constitution and a modicum of liberty? I believe the re-introduction of the centrality of history, civics and social studies back into public school curriculum’s is one answer,
but that will face monumental battles from the faux right.
I remember my torts professor getting the wingnuts in my claas all excited by describinh the torts system, or virtual lack there of, in Australia. He then immediately turned them off the Australian system by explaining that the reason for the watered down system was the excellent public health care system which took care of the plaintiff’s expenses.
The article doesn’t provide much info, however, if the actions of the hospital are as egregious as the headlines lead me to believe, I hope plaintiff’s attorney filed for a JNOV to preserve an appeal.
Well I guess Hospital Attorney Tom Aubin said it best: “We are pleased with the verdict, but the South Broward really makes no comment other than to wish Mrs. Strong and her family the best of luck in the future.” That’s it you pays your money, lose your legs, and get a hearty “good luck,” and a handshake. Oh that’s right she lost both arms too. Well that’s the way it goes –see ya.
Or as Dickens puts it in “Oliver Twist”:
“If the law supposes that,’ said Mr. Bumble, squeezing his hat emphatically in both hands, “the law is a ass–a idiot. If that’s the eye of the law, the law is a bachelor; and the worst I wish the law is, that his eye may be opened by experience–by experience.”
This is a tough one. I really feel horrible for the patient. However,
the article does not mention if the patient knew what her condition may or may not lead to. Obviously the hospital is pleased. It just does not sound right.
Mike-
The conservative line about “frivolous lawsuits” is a cover for the real agenda, cutting off money to the Democratic Party. Along with unions, trial lawyers have long been the Democratic Party’s most reliable and generous donors, and without them, the party, both at the state and federal level, would have few other funding options. That has always been the real goal of tort “reform”.
I am the atty that represented the ER doc. The jury listened intently to 2 month of testimony. There were no tricks by either side. Just the facts and expert testimony. Every expert agreed that just because there is a horrible end result doesn’t mean there is negligence. Anybody that believes that every patient that goes into the hospital should come out normal except if there is med malpractice will never be allowed to sit on the jury because they are too biased. Believe it or not, there are patients that go in sick and won’t get better since the doctors/nurses are human and not God. Thank god the jury was able to set aside the sympathy and judge the case on the facts. I think that is what we would all want if we were ever sued for anything.
jim nosich:
Obviously, you did your job and the jury accepted your version of the truth. I suppose you would agree, and as studies have routinely shown, that juries identify more with the “poor” defendant physician than the “greedy” plaintiff. In addition to this advantage, the defense has unlimited resources, most important of which is an unending stream of expert witnesses, usually insured by the same med mal carrier, to call upon to overwhelm the plaintiff’s experts. You know that sometmes those same med mal cariers even call our experts to find out just why they are helping the plaintiff’s case. They do that only when they insure our experts too, and it’s all routine or innocuous, of course.
In addition, the costs of these cases are staggering, approaching the $100,000.00 to $200,000.00 range just for experts and associated costs which cannot be recovered. Finally, the healthcare crowd has successfully convinced the jury pool that most malpractice cases are frivolous with their incessant advertising and promotion of the few “bad apple cases” such that the public believes they are the norm. Put that all together with the statutory limits on recovery of non-economic (and even economic damages, like here in VA) and the fearmongering that doctors are just quitting because of high malpractice premiums, and you have a system just short of being rigged which makes your job much easier than it should be. Amazing that all this protection for affluent doctors comes at a time when the healthcare companies and physicians are reaping huge economic rewards unheard of just a few years ago before our healthcare was driven from the charities and public sector into the private sector.
Sleep blissfully my colleague in the knowledge that the system we have all created denied a limbless mother the ability to care for her children and whose only negliegnce seems to be relying on her well-heeled physicians to make her well. It’s positively Dickensian!
– a plaintiff’s lawyer.
In response to mespo727272, the ONLY reason that the legislature and the citizens voted for a cap on damages is because plaintiff’s attorneys had been too greedy. Pigs get fed and hogs getg slaughtered.
Secondly, Mrs. Strong left many, many millions on the table before trial. There was enough money to take care of every single economic need for her and her children, and her children’s children. In fact, the defense never even disputed the pl’s economic claim, not one dime.
Thirdly, the firm representing the plaintiff firm is one of the most successful in the Southeast U.S. I guarantee you there were no financing problems there to get an excellent prosecution. In fact, they had more experts than most of the defendants.
My version of the truth and the pl’s version of the truth was the same. The jury deciding that not every wrong is negligence. But you seem to already know all of the facts of the case based on your analysis of what happened. Or, maybe you weren’t there and you judge a case by your biases.
“The jury has spoken.” Just like it does when a plaintiff or your client prevails.
stop whining! as plaintiff’s lawyer you puts your money down ,you takes your chances and when the roll is snake eyes you should not whimper and whine!Suck it up act like men and move on!
jim nosich:
My, my Jim awfully touchy for a victor. I guess magnanimity is not a strong suit. If you think legislators act because one group gets “too greedy” I shall confidently await profit caps on health care for-profit companies and the oil industry in your state. I think I shall have a long wait. Also, I am intrigued that a case with no obvious merit as proclaimed by your jury brought “many, many millions” in settlement offers. Given the database and in my experience, you guys don’t offer anything unless you feel bare-assed and thus I suspect that even you, in a quiet truthful moment, don’t believe justice was done by that jury that “has spoken.” BTW I judge this case by your comments and that of the accounts I read and my knowledge of a broken system that unequivocally insures payment of your fee regardless of performance. Funny there is no move afoot to cap defense costs, just the damages that plaintiff’s can recover. Try to lighten your conscience if you will, but not at my expense.
Oh and Clarence Darrow ( I shudder to type the words since Darrow would never be so obtuse), plaintiff’s lawyers, as risk takers, get paid very well thank you. My lament was for the tragically injured victim here who lives with the result of this slanted system not her lawyer who understood the risks.
I am a very successful Plaintiffs malpractice lawyer.If you are offered a lot of money although it may be less than what you or your client “WANTS” it is your job to get the stars out of your eyes and out of you clients eyes and get the case settled.
After all we are out to represent clients not ourselves and certainly not supposed to be driven by our personal glory or greed .
Of course I am not one of them there ” Big Shot” lawyers , but then again i did not preside or engineer this clients catastrophic result! were any issues smissed?Did her lawyers link up all the issues and close the little(big)gaps in her story? Were they out lawyered by a couple of street comedians from Chicago?
Better yet who was the Plaintiffs genius that left an Army Ranger on the Jury?
Urrah!
clarence darrow:
I agree with your points and I will also agree that behind most every disastrous result there is either a stupid defense lawyer or a plaintiff’s lawyer who has no control over his client. That said, this case is an injustice and there’s no shining it otherwise. And the Army Ranger? Yeesh!!!
Dear Mespo,
Are you really a pl’s atty?
If so, you would understand that winning at trial, on either side, has many components.
Unfortunately, you believe that when the plaintiff wins it is justice and when the defendants win it is a misjustice, no matter the situation.
For you to believe that we thought there was liability because we offered a settlement is very unlawyer-like thinking. If you are a lawyer, you would know that settlement is based on risks. If you don’t know that then you are not really a plaintiffs atty or a “trial lawyer” by any means.
The risk is getting jurors who believe like you: bad injury must equal bad negligence.
I agree with Darrow, the case was probably won by a couple of comedians from the South Side of Chicago.
“The jury has spoken.” I will now wait for some very creative yet ineffective appeal to be filed as a last ditch effort to hold people responsible for something they are not.
jim nossich:
“I will now wait for some very creative yet ineffective appeal to be filed as a last ditch effort to hold people responsible for something they are not.”
*********
Overconfidence about outcomes on appeal makes for foolish-looking lawyers with fewer clients. As to your comment about my bias in favor of plaintiffs, I plead guilty. I have a soft spot for horribly injured victims, don’t you? However, I do not think every case should be won by plaintiffs, just those in which one of defense lawyers tells me that “many, many millions” were offered in settlement, and also tells the world that another doctor who was not named in the suit could be the reason for the jury’s decision. “I think the jury probably laid it all on her.” Culpability (and hence victim status for plaintiff) thus seems established then as to at least one physician by, of all persons, one of the defense team. BTW that lawyer was Jim Nosich, Esq.
I am more inclined to accept the pitiful words of the victim, Ms. Strong, who said: “Every step of the way they did something wrong, and they all pointed fingers at each other, and that’s probably why I lost because the jury couldn’t figure out what was what.” Defense by shell game and blaming the empty chair–seen it before. Seems though, she agrees with Mr. Nosich. Maybe the gray men of the appellate court will agree with her. It wouldn’t be the first appeal decided on natural justice, whatever the technical merits of plaintiff’s assignments of error. We call those appellate decisions the seminal cases.
As Lisa’s ex-husband, (we were married at the time of her entrance to the hospital and for just short of 4 years afterward), I wish to present one of the ironies of one of the “facts” in her case. The statement that “she came in in the middle of the night extremely critically ill at that time, and we did our best for her to get her into the hospital and have other specialists take care of her,” by Mr. Nosich is amazing to me. I was there! Consider that she was triaged at a priority 2 (not the highest priority) at about 2:15 AM as the evidence in the case clearly showed. We arrived at the door of the ER at about 12:15 AM, about 2 hrs earlier. She then was treated in the ER until about 8:15 A.M. when she was FINALLY admitted to the hospital to be treated by “other specialists”. It is incredible to us all that someone who was so “critically ill” was allowed to be “critically ill” for so long without her being treated as being “critically ill”.
As Lisa’s husband and the only person in our family who was in their right mind at the time AND paying attention to the incidents in the treatment of Lisa, (Lisa was QUITE sick and our kids were 4 and 5 years old at the time), it was apparent to me that the hospital still didn’t know what exactly was wrong with Lisa even at the time she was admitted to the hospital at around 8:15. Obviously, we now know exactly what was wrong with Lisa and that the hospital didn’t know for sure at that time. That in itself is not negilence. However, for someone who was so “critically ill” and had been for hours, the urgency and priority seemed to be lacking from my viewpoint. Again, I was there!!
As people, we depend on our health care profesionals to “do the right thing” when it comes to our treatment. I can assure you, as a very concerned spectator during Lisa’s treatment, I was not very well assured or informed as to Lisa’s condition until it was way too late and Lisa’s sickness was in it’s advanced stages. Indeed, it’s amazing she’s still alive. The defense in this case did what they did to question the facts in this case, raise doubt and present their clients in the best light. In the end the jury agreed with them. The finger pointing and ironies in Lisa’s case and her treatment are numerous and still exist. Ultimately, Lisa and our family lives with the jury’s decision. I will always wonder if justice was really achieved and if the “right thing” was done for Lisa and our family, or was it that a defense was made to thwart paying millions of dollars in compensation for damages from the defendants to Lisa. We continue to be unsure, shocked and amazed.
Donald N.Strong
strongdon why did you not stand by your woman?
mespo727272 you left out greedy plaintiff lawyers
Don:
“We continue to be unsure, shocked and amazed.”
**********
And so am I. I hope she fights on with the appeal, and gets that other unnamed physician, whom the jury apparently felt was responsible, into court. What you experienced is the old trick of blaming the one physician who wasn’t named in the suit. I have even seen those unnamed physicians testify and “fall on their sword” at trial to protect the defendants in the case. More “courageous” is when the physicians get the nurses to “fall on their swords” to cover the doctor’s mistakes. Welcome to the high-stakes world of medical malpractice litigation.
Thank you for your insights,and I wish you, Lisa, and your children, well.
clarence darrow:
Now that comment to Don was out of line. I suspect his decision was made in the best interest of his family to obtain benefits for his wife under the household income rules. If not, who cares? It’s doesn’t affect the discussion. On the “greedy” plaintiff’s lawyers, I couldn’t figure a way to get it in there. Maybe you can help!
mespo727272 a little welfare and medicaid fraud?
clarence darrow:
Your compassion is overwhelming. Sure you’re not on the defense side?
I have so much to respond to that I don’t even know where to begin.
I know that I am extremely shocked and repulsed by Mr. Nosich’s comments here, as well as his newly skewed view of the facts of the case now that I lost. I treated every doctor and lawyer in the case with the utmost respect during this entire ordeal. I smiled every time I saw them and talked to them as pleasantly as I could. In fact, one of the defense lawyers apologized to me and asked for my forgiveness; he was only doing his job. Maybe Mr. N’s pig reference is really aimed at himself. And for his claim that millions were on the table is simply not the case, in fact he did not act in good faith to try to settle early, and he lied about how much his client had in malpractice insurance all the way past mediation until the day before the trial.
On September 20, 2003, I entered Memorial West Hospital (South Broward Hospital District) around 12:30 am. I came in with a temp spiking at 106 degrees. I immediately told them I had a kidney stone. and began vomiting. Two hours later the triage nurse wrote in her note that I had a kidney stone. However The ER doctor, Dr. Kocik, Mr. Nosich’s client, ignored the info given to her, and spent the rest of her shift exploring a gallstone dx, ordering an ultrasound, and she never gave me a ct scan. She did, however, order antibiotics, which was good. At 4:00 AM, my bp went down to 59/39. Dr K’s primary dx was acute fever. secondary dx, sepsis or leukopenia. At 5:30 am a ct scan was recommended, but not performed. At 6:00 AM , I was given Dopamine and Dr Strong was consulted. At 8:00 am I started vomiting again.
I was left alone for five hours. I was seen by Dr. K at 4 am and not seen again until 10:45 by Dr. Sharma. My atty, John Shipley states that I was a victim of shift change. At around 6:20 and again at 8:30 Dr. Kocik consulted with Dr. Strong (no relation) and, according to her, told him that I had a kidney stone (even though she never checked for one).
Dr, Strong received this info over the phone and he called in orders to admit me to ICU. He never came in to see me. He states that Dr. K reported to him hat I had a gallstone. He reversed Dr. K’s orders of antibiotics and such. He said he called Dr. Sharma (who denies it and is the unnamed dr, in this case)and tells her I am now in emergent care. She does not show up to the hospital until 10:45.
Meanwhile, I had been left alone and Dr. Strong had reversed Dr. K’s orders, which didn’t matter anyway because nobody carried out those orders. The nurse testified that she did not agree with the order, so took it upon herself to not administer it. Yet, she failed to let a doctor know of her opinions and of her decision to do nothing.
Finally Dr. Sharma arrives. She consults with Dr, Nebhragani, a surgeon. Around noon that next day. they tell me I had to have surgery or I would die. I questioned the dr about his skill, and for some reason (I was totally out of it before this point) I asked if he had malpractice ins. He said that hat he did not. I wanted another dr, repeatedly asked for one, no matter the effort, and I was told there was none to be had. It was actually a huge lie that they kept up; and I finally believed that there actually was no other dr anywhere that could help me, thinking it was still the middle of the night. After the unnecessary exploratory surgery. I had cardiac arrest while putting me back into ICU. Finally, a ct scan was done, and a urologist called in who put a stint in to relieve the blockage of the kidney stone. If anyone save my life, it was the urologist. I continued to have more arrests.
Dr. Kocik lied in her depositions, and again in trial. She got caught lying and cried on the stand. Additionally, one of their experts got caught lying and also had to admit it on the stand. And no, not all of the experts agreed that there were no negligence, because all of mine certainly did not, and they never got caught lying. Every Dr.’s atty argued that it was the other dr.’s fault, which should have made our case stronger yet.
As for the “millions ad millions” on the table: Mr. N’s client was the only one with insurance, and told us it was a one million dollar policy, when actually it was not. The hospital capped at 200K. So at mediation everyone went around the table and apologized to me, and plainly stated I would get nothing.
A day before trial I as offered 3.3 million. This was from everybody named (it turned out Dr. Strong had insurance, too, but for 250K). So the hospital offered one mil, Dr. Kocik two mil, 250 from Dr. Strong, and Dr. Nebragani would throw in 50K. After atty’s fees, medical costs, and after my ex-husband and my two children got their share, I was advised it simply was not enough to help me in the long run. Going into trial, despite what the jury verdict for damages would be, I knew I would never see anything more than the settlement offer because the money just wasn’t there. I chose to go to trial for the principal of it, to obtain justice by a verdict, to change laws and policies so this wouldn’t happen to anyone else.
For the jury to come back and say there was zero negligence is incomprehensible. It is almost as if they were bought off.
-Lisa Strong
Lisa:
Your story is typical and rings true to me. You could have shut up (confidential settlement I’ll bet),taken the money, and ran leaving this crew of keystone docs to malpractice in secrect on others (allegedly, of course), but you took the honorable course for you and your family. That another defense lawyer with a conscience apologized to you doesn’t surprise me. See my comments above. As for the jury being bought off, I don’t think so. More likely they are the products of the misinformation brought about by the conservative hype machine hell bent on protecting their money at all costs, including basic decency. I wish you well.
Lisa:
Thank you for contributing with your account. It is a very disturbing case and I wish you the very best in overcoming this tragedy. I hope that you will continue to contribute on this and other stories.
JT
Thank you, mespo.
I forgot to respond to the as—- comments by Clarence Darrow. To say that we divorced for “welfare” is ludicrous. I have to borrow money every month just to stay afloat.
Is this you?
mespo727272
What would you call someone today who had a grievance against another and to resolve the matter permitted his own son to suffer a certain and excruciating death without lifting a finger to save him? Christians may call him the “Almighty,” but here on earth, we would call him a felon. It’s funny how the rules change when we simply set the crime in the First Century and make the actors Palestinians and Hebrews spurred on by their fantasy religion. Your masochism is well documented, but to what end. That your religion makes you feel better about yourself does not support, in the slightest degree, the validity of its claims. Indeed the Marquis de Sade greatly enjoyed his “philosophy,” and I’m certain felt better about himself after committing some atrocity against another human being, who was incidentally not a believer either. Like a growing number of Americans and the overwhelming majority of Europeans, I am reaching the conclusion that Christianity is more a suicide pact that a religion and that its followers wold see a silver lining in the near extinction of human life on the planet since it would also mean that their deity was about to fly in on “clouds of glory” to rescue them.
Link to above–
http://doxologica.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/obama-on-the-war/
Clint:
You’re back, and yeah that’s me too! Exposed, gosh I hope not, I don’t have my pantaloons today!!
M.E.
Just what is the relevancy of your supposed “exposé”?
Lisa Strong:
Thank you, Lisa, for your courage and conviction. Good luck to you and your attorneys as they fight on. Justice usually comes to the persistent.
FFLeo:
I suppose he presumes to tar and feather me with my own words, but I do sort of like ‘em. I ‘m usually careful about what I say, and I must say that the dialogue I had with Clint of the blog (oops don’t tell JT, he gets a little possessive) Clint’s Contemplations was educational and quite respectful of both sides. I wish I would have thought to link it up here myself, but M.E. has done me the service. It’s really no different than what I usually say here. I did word it a little better for Clint I notice however–again keep that between us since JT expects so much here at the neighborhood cyber-bar.
Mespo,
I followed the link provided and I simply read no reason for an exposé…just between us, though.
Disclaimer: M.E., I am an atheist…and I am always looking for “dirt” on any attorney.
Of paramount importance–and more relevant to this topic–I think the jury wronged Ms. Lisa Strong in her attempt at justice. I always have mixed thoughts regarding large pro-plaintiff jury awards; however, Ms. Strong’s case swung the opposite direction and all appearances suggest that the jury got the verdict terribly wrong. Perhaps she can win on appeal and gain a just award so that she can become as financially self-supporting as possible.
This case chronicles into life’s ledger squarely within the column of ‘sometimes life is just not fair.’
Mespo,
I honestly didn’t leave that message. I came to this site because someone visited my site from this link. But, now I’m back! Do you honestly think I would call myself “Mespo Exposed”? Give me some credit please. I’m glad this happened because I forgot the address of this site.
A mystery is afoot! Who is M.E.? Who framed the exposed mespo and what is his picture doing in some strangers darkroom?
FFLEO,
I am at a loss to explain this verdict as well. I hope Lisa’s appeal will be successful. The hospital, “wishes her well”? That’s a slap in the face. It’s worse than saying nothing. Lisa, if you read this blog again, know you have many people thinking of you and hoping for justice.
Clint,
Thank you for clearing up your noninvolvement in the M.E. message.
Clint:
“Do you honestly think I would call myself “Mespo Exposed”? ”
**********
Nah, not really. I’m just glad you stopped in for a few. Good to see you back!
Jill:
Who framed mespo in the chatroom with a keyboard? I see a board game coming!
Let us all get real. The Medical Field in Florida has become nothing more than a Political Group(s). Many attorneys will disclaim this, but follow the trail of Florida Medical, the politicians and the money forked out by various special interest groups. The State of Florida Quality Control have sent out numerous letters stating surgeons, hospitals, doctors, etc., do wrong, but nothing they do is illegal therefor the State can take no action. Cap on Suites? Humorous statement. FMA has already placed a cap on settlements, just behind the public awareness and not out in Florida Legislation. The power of the vote is not provided, it is purchased by the Medical Fields behind the scenes. The area in which this case was heard a is highly Medical Political Motivated location. Challenge my words, and then return with research and prove me wrong. Florida oversees the Hospitals, places them into compromised financial situations, brings in the Big Guys (American Cancer Society who help the State Run Programs behind public awareness, Komen, who help protect, disqualify and provide ‘grants’ to the local media to cover what they actually do, and do not forget the previous run CDC center that forked out millions if not billions into the budgets behind closed doors, while the Hospitals scream they have no funds the doctors cry poverty as they collect hidden from public view grants, privileges and immunity few other states permit.) Even attorney’s are in on the Games, especially if they work for any State Related Agency. The Culprits lie in the Florida Medical Association, who support numerous Medical Boards, who then collect to help politicians from each of the Medical related Licensed Doctors.
This was one case, that I would run, not walk into a Federal Court and by pass the State litigation system, because in Florida, we have few if any who have not been fooled by the politics of Florida Medicines. What is paramount is, where are the steps proving the State took Action to ensure no other experienced such? If as the attorney stated, people simply go into a Hospital and come out harmed by default, then why do all the National Studies show it is the Negligence of the Hospitals and the State Regulations that cause the actual deaths of Patients in Hospitals? Based on Scientific Studies, the greater danger is now appearing to be entering a Hospital, not exiting it. Especially in Florida. A patiant is nothing more than a means to an end, and that end is often not gained from Insurance or payment of medical bills, it comes from Federal, and State Allocated Grants based on the numbers, not on the individuals.