corrente

The problems for Terri Schiavo began with a misdiagnosis and failure to warn that led to a malpractice suit, an award of about $700,000 for her future care, and about $300,000 for loss of consortium to her husband. This is about $50,000 more than the anti-malpractice politicos would have given him, on account of how frivolous and inflated all those lawsuits are, you know.

So you can imagine how cheered I was to read this story in the NY Daily News on a woman who only wanted a nose job:

"An apparently healthy 42-year-old woman died last week following a nose job and face-lift by (Michael Sachs) a Manhattan plastic surgeon with the state's worst malpractice record."

After going into cardiac arrest in the doctor's office, she was taken to the hospital and pronounced brain-dead. She had learned of the good doctor via a news write-up, which

"...did not mention that Sachs has for years been one of the most sued doctors in New York, as first revealed by the Daily News five years ago.
Current records show Sachs' malpractice standing hasn't improved. His official physician profile shows he has made 33 malpractice payments during the past decade, more than any other doctor in the state, according to a News analysis ofthe National Practitioner Data Bank public file.
Additionally, there are two malpractice suits pending against Sachs alleging breathing difficulties stemming from botched nose jobs.
Kelly said the article Cregan saw also didn't note that state health officials, citing negligence, last year banned Sachs from ever performing complex nasal procedures without the supervision of another doctor."

Now here's my question: if Bush and the AMA are so determined to eliminate frivolous lawsuits, why do they allow oily shits like this to continue to hold a license? Because as long as they refuse to police their own ranks and place the protection of patients above their own circle-the-wagons mentality, these kinds of tragedies will go on, and the grounds on which they build their arguments against malpractice will keep washing away.

Thanks to the folks at The Airing of Grievances for the heads-up.