Levin and Perconti has been honored in Chicago Magazine's 2008 Illinois Super Lawyers Edition. Both John Perconti and Steve Levin were named Super Lawyers as Plaintiff's Personal Injury Lawyers. The pair have been honored for the last four years as two of Chicago's best Injury Lawyers.
Recently a colleague referred a case to me involving blatant medical negligence. The referring attorney explained the series of events involving a misdiagnosis, a failure to diagnose, and a relatively simple procedure essentially done backwards causing material to be pumped out of the patient’s stomach of pumped into the patient’s stomach. As he explained the situation to me, it was clear that the doctor had made mistakes and caused the patient severe pain and permanent injury. It was no surprise to me that the patient had decided to pursue legal action. Apparently, however, the patient was reluctant to file a personal injury claim based on the medical malpractice of the doctor. The patient was reluctant to file a personal injury lawsuit , that is, until the doctor behaved arrogantly and refused to admit any wrongdoing. The old rule in medicine was to never apologize and never admit mistakes, but the old rule may not be the smart rule. In a recent New York Times article, a doctor explains a mistake he made and how his apology diffused the situation and even won over the patient. As an personal injury attorney I have seen that, unfortunately, mistakes are more commonplace in medicine than anyone would like to admit. Even more unfortunately, apologies are nearly non-existent.
For the complete New York Times article, click here.
What is the best way to measure a doctor’s competency? A new program in New York will allow major insurance companies to rate doctors in the same way restaurants and movies are rated. Naturally, the health insurance industry is concerned about costs and will likely base its ratings primarily on the cost of care. The New York program does require the health insurance providers also utilize national standards and guidelines to rate doctors. The natural focus on cost, which is the reality in any business, begs the question whether the size and number of medical malpractice settlements and verdicts will factor into the ratings system.
For a recent editorial on the plan click here.
Since it is assumed lawyers are unethical, ethics is an integral part of the law school curriculum. By the time law students graduate from law school they are keenly aware that not reporting unethical behavior is itself a breach of the ethical duty all lawyers have. I do not know whether that is true for doctors as well. A new study published on December 4, 2007, in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests there is a disconnect between doctors’ own ethics and their practices. The disconnect may be the result of fear of malpractice lawsuits, but that fear is not the concern of injured patients, injured patients’ families, or malpractice lawyers. The disconnect should be the concern of medical malpractice insurance carriers who should be seeking to uncover doctors who violate standards of care. The medical malpractice insurers’ best hope is doctors reporting doctors.
For an article discussing the study click here.
