* Make Mine Manhattan
New York City is a favorite springtime destination for many in Newport Beach. My wife and I just returned from a visit to Manhattan. Even after being hit by hurricane Sandy and a record snowstorm the city has recovered amazingly once again showing the courage, determination and will of New Yorkers. Others in New Jersey and Staten Island are still awaiting the aid promised by the government. It appears the weather has turned around and during our visit, the last week of March, none of our plans had to be cancelled because of the elements. So perhaps the time has come to plan that trip east if you are a NYC buff. If you want to see Annie go on line and reserve your seats ASAP. Broadway is coming back at full steam.
* Lawyer Must Pay Patient For a Change – Hallelujah!
As you have heard from me before, Orange County is not only one of the most litigious counties in California but in the entire nation, so any good news on lawsuits from here or elsewhere is welcome. A reader sent me an abstract about a lawyer having to pay a patient in a medical malpractice case. The story goes something like this (abstract shortened and modified for clarity). The patient went to a Fairfax (Virginia) gynecology clinic, when she felt firmness in her breasts. A mammogram was performed that was of poor technical quality. It was sent to the Northern Virginia Breast Imaging Center, where a radiologist, for a $12 fee, read it as negative. Later when her husband saw puckered skin on her breast she went to different doctors. The new doctors told her she had cancer that had spread to many lymph nodes. The patient decided to sue and took her case to a medical malpractice lawyer. He consulted medical experts and sued the clinic, the center and the radiologist. The suit asked for $1 million, the maximum permitted under Virginia law. The patient’s attorney, Benjamin W. Glass III, lost the only copy of the mammogram. Without the X-rays, Glass told the plaintiff there was no case, and the malpractice suit was dropped. The patient finally got her day in court. An Alexandria jury ordered attorney Glass to pay her $1 million. Glass said. “I’m actually glad Vicki won her case. If anybody deserves to be compensated, she is the one.” Glass said his malpractice insurance company, the American National Lawyers Insurance Reciprocal, is responsible for paying the judgment. Maybe this will begin a trend! If only the Lawyers Insurance Reciprocal can be made to pay more judgments in Newport Beach.
