His basic credentials would come under fire, but they were sufficient for the “doctor” to insinuate himself into major institutions, and, worse, into the lives of hundreds of girls and young women on whom he inflicted a tragic toll. His combination of enthusiasm — he was a rah-rah kind of guy— extreme controlling conduct, and horrific “treatments”….
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Big Pharma enlists more useful allies: pay-for-hire academic economists
It’s a $50-million business with a roster of blue-chip consultants who would be an envied faculty at most any major university. But look closely at the activities of Precision Health Economics because this firm’s esteemed academic economists, for big bucks, are boosting Big Pharma’s efforts to justify some of its sky-high prices for its products….
Continue ReadingSurgeon confesses to court lie, says MDs too willing to fib in malpractice suits
A conscience-stricken surgeon in South Dakota has publicly confirmed one of the great frustrations for patients pursuing medical malpractice claims after they have been harmed: He says doctors are too willing to lie in court to protect themselves and colleagues, as he did two decades ago in a case involving a partner in his practice…..
Continue ReadingDid drug maker fuel abuse by insisting that OxyContin works for 12 hours?
OxyContin in two decades not only has become a highly profitable, exceedingly popular prescription, it also has become one of the nation’s most abused painkillers─for a crucial reason, the Los Angeles Times says. The paper investigated and found that the drug’s maker wrongly has promoted the medication as having a 12-hour effectiveness─twice that of generic….
Continue Reading“Police Psychologist” William Lewinski Defends His Methods & Credentials
This is a cross-examination by me (Patrick Malone) done so long ago that I had forgotten about it until a friend reminded me just after my book The Fearless Cross-Examiner was published. It’s worth posting here because (1) the witness, William Lewinski, remains a frequent “expert” called to defend police shootings across the country, (2)….
Continue ReadingFriedman, Rick: Polarizing the Extreme Witness: Cross-Examination of a forensic psychiatrist
[Mead] v. Paul Revere Life Ins. Co., CV-S-00731-JCM-RJJ, U.S. District Court, District of Nevada, Dec. 10, 2004. (Note that the plaintiff’s name in this case is changed to protect privacy.) One important tactic for cross-examining an implacable foe is to push the witness to the extreme boundaries of his position. Rick Friedman calls this “polarizing”….
Continue ReadingBar upholds lawyer’s constitutional right to blog about untruthful witness
A Michigan lawyer may write about the untruthful testimony of an “expert” medical witness because his online blog post and his comments are protected speech under the First Amendment, officials from the Michigan Bar have decided. That’s good news for the lawyer, who had his law license challenged by the witness─a psychiatrist who also happens to….
Continue ReadingLeventhal, Jim: Adverse examination of a defendant doctor in a medical malpractice case.
Epperly v. Perez, Case No. 08CV165, 13th Judicial District, Colorado, January 15, 2009. [Malone Comments are throughout the transcript in red] THE COURT: The Plaintiff may call the next witness. MR. LEVENTHAL: At this time, we will call the defendant, Dr. Perez, on cross-examination, pursuant to the Rules of Civil Procedure. THE COURT: Very well…..
Continue ReadingDoctor Who Defrauded and Disabled Is Sentenced to Prison
In a particularly offensive and harmful misuse of professional authority, a doctor in Detroit was sentenced earlier this month to 45 years in prison for defrauding insurance companies of millions of dollars and poisoning hundreds of patients with chemotherapy treatments when they didn’t even have cancer. Those weren’t the only crimes committed by Dr. Farid….
Continue ReadingMedicare Pay Fix Has an Add-On: Malpractice Protection for Doctors
Last month much attention was paid to the passage of a bill by the House of Representatives to reconfigure how doctors are paid by Medicare. But one of its provisions escaped most people’s attention, and it has a huge potential effect on patient safety. It grants added protection for doctors against medical malpractice lawsuits. As….
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