AHLA's Speaking of Health Law

The Lighter Side of Health Law - June 2021

June 29, 2021 AHLA Podcasts
AHLA's Speaking of Health Law
The Lighter Side of Health Law - June 2021
Show Notes Transcript

AHLA's monthly podcast featuring health lawyer and blogger Norm Tabler's informative and entertaining take on recent health law and other legal developments.  

To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

Speaker 1:

This episode of A H L A Speaking of health law is brought to you by A H L A members and donors like you. For more information, visit american health law.org.

Speaker 2:

Hi, I'm Norm Taylor with this month's edition of the Lighter Side of Health Law. Best idea of the month. We've all been there. You're already running late when you're stopped dead in your tracks because you just can't find your keys. Well, prominent anti-vaxxer, Dr. Sherry Tenpenny has come up with a solution and she wasn't even trying a promoter of the theory that vaccinations cause autism. Dr. Sherry was testifying against Covid vaccine mandates before the Ohio legislature when she testified. Quote, I'm sure you've seen the pictures all over the internet of people who have these shots and now they're magnetized. They can put a key on their forehead. It sticks because now we think there's a metal piece in the vaccine. Think about it. If Dr. Sherry is right, you don't ever have to lose your keys again. Just get vaccinated for covid and you can keep your keys on your forehead. They'll always be right before your very eyes and oh yeah, as a side benefit, you won't catch covid just what the doctor ordered. What if your doctor prescribed a donation? Yes, a donation. The doctor examined you and then recommended that you make a gift to the hospital. That's what doctors say. Philadelphia based Jefferson Health was urging them to do specifically the hospital linked physician bonuses to patient referrals to its fundraising office. What did Jefferson Health have to say when the doctors went public? Hey, there's nothing at all wrong with what we're doing, but now that you mention it will stop doing it. Bird flipping. As a trial tactic. As a trial tactic, bird flipping can be expensive. Just ask Michigan lawyer James Heroes. James represented the plaintiff in a medical malpractice case. His opponent was making his oral argument in a zoom hearing when James was caught live and in color, flipping the bird directly at the screen, challenged by the judges, James denied directing the gesture at the court or his opponent. Rather, he explained he was directing it at the malfunctioning computer. He had no idea he could be seen. The court was not impressed with the explanation ruling that James had not only exhibited quote, shameful disrespect to the court and his opponent, but had been dishonest in his explanation. He was fined$3,000. What the hell did Charmaine do? You have to sympathize with Charmaine Gadel. Her case had been pending since her 2017 car crash. Finally this March, her case was ready for trial, but it was dismissed before it even began. Why? Because her lawyer, Howard Greenwald, refused to wear a mask as required by the Kings County New York Supreme Court. He insisted that his face shield was sufficient and that a mask interfered with his breathing When Howard wouldn't back down. Judge Knape angrily scrolled a handwritten one sentence Order of dismissal contacted by the press for a reaction. The head of Howard's firm called the Dismissal quote, the most disgusting thing I've ever seen and posed the rhetorical question. What the hell did Charmaine do to deserve a case to be dismissed? The case is or was Goodell versus Vicn, the tender sensibilities of New York litigators. I always thought litigators had thick skin and New York litigators the thickest of all. But a recent development suggests I may have been wrong. The controversy arose out of a video deposition and a case against Exxon represented by a blue chip, New York firm. A partner in the firm filed a motion for sanctions against a lawyer for the plaintiffs. She wanted him punished for unprofessional behavior. In the deposition, her motion said he had been quote, combative, disrespectful, adversarial, even unhinged during the deposition. Just what did he do that was so bad? The judge asked, well, the complaining lawyer responded. He appeared to be glaring, shook his head or an angry or irritated expression and my favorite. He leaned forward toward his computer screen. There's more, but you'd better sit down. Ready? Okay. He addressed her by her first name. I did not make this up. He addressed her by her first name. The judge reviewed the video of the deposition and couldn't find any evidence of unprofessional, let alone unhinged conduct. He concluded that the complaint was unfounded, denied the motion and formally admonished the complaining lawyer and her firm for violating federal Rule 11 by filing a motion with no evidence to support it. The case is John Doe one versus Exxon Federal District Court for the District of Columbia. The burrito made me do it When track star and Olympic hopeful. Shelby Houlahan tested positive for the ban drug NAND alone. She had a ready explanation. The burrito made me do it. How so? The athletics integrity unit asked. Well, said Shelby. I ate a pork burrito. A lot of the pork and pork burritos is pig organs and pig organs contain Krone. Q E D. The A I U was not impressed. Neither was the court of arbitration for sport. So Shelby has been suspended from competition for four years and won't be going to the Tokyo Olympics. On the positive side, she can eat all the pork burritos she wants participation trophies. I'm not one of those macho guys who object to participation trophies. You know the awards kids give for competing even if they don't do particularly well, but I'm not sure that participation trophies should be handed out to hospitals. Becker's Hospital Review recently published an article Commending Hospitals for Innovative Improvements in the Waiting Room Experience. Some hospitals clearly deserve accommodation like the ones that made architectural enhancements so that their waiting rooms look more like hotel lobbies. But I question whether others deserve accommodation like the hospital. The article commends for the brainstorm of quote, allowing patients to wait in their vehicles for their appointments. Seven strikes and you're out. It was seven strikes and you're out for attorney Stanley Linsky and is not only out, he owes his own client$750,000. The first strike was when he neglected client. Marion say's medical malpractice case so badly that it was dismissed. The second strike was failure to respond to Miriam's suit for legal malpractice. Third was being defaulted for failing to respond by the extended deadline the judge gave him. Fourth was failure to appear. The damages hearing fifth was being a no-show for the second chance the judge gave him. Sixth was skipping the hearing on how much he owed in sanctions, and the seventh strike was failure to pay the sanctions for skipping the scheduled deposition. Fed up. The court awarded Miriam$750,000 on her claim against Stanley. You won't be surprised to hear that in the legal malpractice case, Stanley was represented by Stanley. The case is SAAG versus Linsky, Massachusetts. Court of Appeals, your hidden copay. Patients requiring frequent visits to the hospital know about a hidden copay parking fees, which can run as high as$30 a day. They're like a copay rather than a deductible because there's no annual cap. Kaiser Health News and JAMA Oncology report that oncologists are increasingly concerned about the issue. JAMA Oncology reports that only 20 of 63 National Cancer Institute designated cancer centers offer free parking. The remaining 43 charge varying amounts with some patients paying as much as$1,700 for parking during a course of treatment. But try not to be too depressed about it, especially if you're a mental health professional. Charges for parking the worst of Nathan Coy nurse Nathan Coy had the unfortunate habit of posting misinformation and worse on his Twitter account and he got away with it until someone strung together several particularly tasteless items on TikTok. You might call the montage the worst of Nathan Coy. It featured Nathan laughing at a patient crying over a medical bill. Nathan insisting that Covid isn't that dangerous, and Nathan arguing that Dr. Fauci paid to have someone create covid. The montage features Nathan in his scrubs and work badge, as well as interior and exterior shots of his hospital Baptist Health in Montgomery, Alabama. The TikTok montage achieved what Nathan's single post never had. It went viral, so viral that the folks at Baptist saw it and promptly fired Nathan. Well, that's it for this month edition of the Lighter Side of Health Law. I hope you enjoyed it. Check your A H L A Weekly and Health Law Connections Magazine for the next edition.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening. If you enjoy this episode, be sure to subscribe to A H L A speaking of health law wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about A H L A and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit American health law.org.