Re: Verdict drives physician into bankruptcy
From: Lynn D. Montgomery, M.D. (apgar10@montanadsl.net)
Mon Feb 20 14:29:07 2006
Your odds are certainly a hellva lot better than hitting the powerball...
-----Original Message-----
From: ob-gyn-l@obgyn.net [mailto:ob-gyn-l@obgyn.net] On Behalf Of Anna
Meenan, MD
Sent: Monday, February 20, 2006 12:58 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list OB-GYN-L
Subject: Re: Verdict drives physician into bankruptcy
Since when does numbness and tingling merit 5.6 mil? I have residual
numbness in the right lateral femoral cutaneous distribution since foot
surgery with prolonged tourniquet time. Can I collect 5.6 mil?
Anna Meenan, MD
At Sun, 19 Feb 2006, Dean Huffman . wrote:
>
>..
>
>http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/01/16/prca0116.htm
>
>PROFESSIONAL ISSUES
>
>Verdict drives physician into bankruptcy
>
>In the Courts. By Bonnie Booth, AMNews correspondent. Jan. 16, 2006.
>
>It has been 10 years and nine lawyers since neurosurgeon Lenard J.
>Rutkowski, MD, was sued for medical malpractice. He holds out hope that
>sometime in 2006, he will finally be able to put the saga behind him.
>
>Unlike many physicians who are loathe to talk openly about the
>experience of being named in a lawsuit and its personal and professional
ramifications, Dr.
>Rutkowski has plenty to say.
>
>He is willing to relive the details of his case as often as necessary
>to get his colleagues to heed his warnings and take his advice. He said
>he sees it as his duty to use his experience, as best he can, to help his
colleagues.
>
>To that end, he and some attorneys advise:
>
>- Keep no possessions in your name.
>
>- Keep cash on hand if possible.
>
>- Keep checking accounts and credit cards which are separate from your
spouse.
>
>- Invest in asset protection with a qualified and experienced attorney.
>
>- Have no joint accounts and no co-signers.
>
>- Get licensed in any state you might want to live and work in at some
>point in the future.
>
>If you believe legal experts who say that plaintiff's attorneys rarely
>go after physicians' assets if a verdict is more than the physician's
>coverage amount, these steps might seem a bit drastic.
>
>But Dr. Rutkowski is living proof that being one of those "rare" cases
>can be devastating for a physician and his or her staff, patients and
family.
>
>A long road
>
>Dr. Rutkowski's story begins sometime in 1991 or 1992. He can no longer
>remember exactly when the middle-aged man who later became the
>plaintiff came to him seeking a third opinion on a work-related injury
>that was causing pain, numbness and tingling in his left arm. Two
>previous physicians recommended surgery on vertebrae C5-C6 and Dr.
>Rutkowski said it was feasible that a surgery might need to be done on
C6-C7 as well. The man decided he wanted Dr.
>Rutkowski to perform a diskectomy.
>
>Dr. Rutkowski said the patient's weight made it difficult to see all
>the vertebrae because he had to be x-rayed from front to back rather
>than on his side. As a result, he said, what he thought was C5-C6 and
>C6-C7 turned out to be C4-C5 and C5-C6.
>
>For the next three months, Dr. Rutkowski saw the patient on a monthly
basis.
>Following the surgery and physical therapy, Dr. Rutkowski said, the
>weakness in the patient's left triceps muscle was gone, but some
>numbness and tingling remained.
>
>Eventually he sought treatment elsewhere, and that neurosurgeon said Dr.
>Rutkowski should have operated on C6-C7 and the patient was still
>experiencing pain because Dr. Rutkowski hadn't.
>
>In 1995, the patient sued Dr. Rutkowski and the radiologist who
>interpreted the films used for surgery. Dr. Rutkowski's insurance
>company, ISMIE Mutual Insurance Co., appointed him a lawyer.
>
>In early 2001, before the case was scheduled to go to trial, Dr.
>Rutkowski told his wife about the lawsuit. He had not told her before,
>he said, because he did not want to upset her. She wanted him to
>settle, and they asked Dr. Rutkowski's corporate attorney to write a letter
to ISMIE to that effect.
>
>Dr. Rutkowski says the letter was ignored, despite the fact that the
>plaintiff's attorney had indicated his client would be willing to
>settle for the policy limits and threatened to go after the physicians'
assets if he won at trial.
>
>An ISMIE spokesperson said the company does not comment on individual
>cases or individual physicians.
>
>The case went to trial in November 2001 in Will County, Ill. Dr.
>Rutkowski said the plaintiff testified that he could not lift a coffee
>cup. The defense showed the jury a 38-minute surveillance videotape of
>the plaintiff lifting and moving
>two- and four-drawer metal cabinets.
>
>The jury awarded the plaintiff $5.6 million, $2.6 million more than the
>coverage Dr. Rutkowski and the radiologist had between them. In polling the
jury, Dr.
>Rutkowski's attorney learned that at least one juror thought the
>videotape was an invasion of the plaintiff's privacy.
>
>Dr. Rutkowski appealed the verdict.
>
>For several months, he said, he received very little information about
>the status of the lawsuit.
>
>Then, in August 2002, his wife went to the bank and found out that all
>their corporate and personal assets had been frozen, including $100,000
>worth of checks for payment of liability insurance, payroll and general
>bills. He was forced to turn over to the plaintiff's attorney all
>leases, 1040s for seven years, bank statements and deposit slips for
>the same time period, investment statements, housing records and accounts
receivable, among other things.
>
>A settlement following the judgment had not been reached, and the
>plaintiff's lawyer wanted the full amount of the verdict.
>
>Dr Rutkowski said he was left with no choice but to file bankruptcy.
>
>On Sept. 5, 2002, with the help of two new lawyers, he filed corporate
>bankruptcy, which a government lawyer was appointed to oversee. For six
>weeks, he was unable to pay his staff. His assets were liquidated and
>his wife was forced to scrounge together funds to buy his office
>furniture and equipment to keep the practice running. In November of
>that year, Dr. Rutkowski began receiving a salary determined by the
bankruptcy court.
>
>In October 2002, he filed Chapter 11 personal bankruptcy as well, and
>he had to hire another lawyer to handle that.
>
>Then, in June, 2004, the Illinois Appellate Court, Third District,
>overturned the jury verdict, leaving both sides to contemplate whether
>they were willing to endure the stress and expense of another trial.
>The parties decided to go to mediation and eventually reached an
>agreement in which the plaintiff settled for policy limits and signed off
any rights to appeal.
>
>By this time, Dr. Rutkowski said, he had accumulated more than $400,000
>in legal fees.
>
>He became a "poster child" for tort reform in Illinois, and his county
>medical society was one of the first to hold rallies and purchase
>billboard space to publicize its cause.
>
>But, in the end, Dr. Rutkowski became one of the many neurosurgeons to
>be driven from the state by the medical liability climate. He now
>practices in Mississippi.
>
>The settlement agreement provided for money to be returned to him. His
>corporate bankruptcy has been rescinded, but his personal bankruptcy
>has not, due to some disputes arising solely from the bankruptcy
>proceedings. He holds out hope they will be resolved soon as well.
>
>He believes he and his family have been made stronger by the experience
>-- which he calls enlightening, educational, expensive, exasperating and
excruciating.
>But that doesn't mean he would wish it upon anybody else.
>
>Indeed, he wants his colleagues to take his story to heart and be as
>prepared as possible to protect their families and their careers.
>
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>Booth, a former Professional Issues editor, is now studying law. To
>comment on
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>--------- this column contact Professional Issues Editor Tanya Albert
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>
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>--------- (tanya.albert@ama-assn.org), 312-464-5748
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