Doctor Lies On Stand To Thwart Medical Malpractice Victims

Many of us revere doctors and give them great respect. We trust them and listen to their advice. But doctors are like other human beings. They have good days and bad days, and they make mistakes. They also lie.

That’s right. Doctors lie.

And even after swearing to take an oath on the stand, a doctor will still lie.

It is more common than you may think—or want to believe. In fact, it is shocking and scary!

Just recently, a doctor admitted—actually confessed—to lying on the stand during a medical malpractice lawsuit against a colleague to help his colleague’s case. The Plaintiff’s widow ended up losing the wrongful death medical malpractice case. Now, over two decades later, the lying doctor feels guilty an admitted to it. Part of his confession is the heavy guilt and disappointment he had over his actions to the community and the profession. He cites peer pressure and protecting his reputation amongst other physicians and hospitals as the reason for lying.

He also cited that all medical providers see “all attorneys as a threat and anything that you did was OK to thwart their efforts to sue your colleagues.” However, when was the last time you heard of a lawyer’s malpractice killing someone? Just yesterday I published about doctors at a hospital failing to sterilize gastric scopes which killed people by nasty infections—isn’t that more of a threat than a lawyer?

There is nothing that we can do to stop people lying, whether that be doctors, politicians, or even lawyers. But what a victim of medical malpractice can do is retain an experienced New York medical malpractice attorney. Victims need to have a strong advocate on their side who will fight tooth and nail to ensure their rights are protected.

Victims of medical malpractice can also help themselves by documenting everything. Keep a journal and document every visit, person you meet, what was done, how you are feeling, and what is happening regarding your life and your treatment. Powerful plaintiff’s make powerful cases.

Also authorize your attorney to find the best of the best experts. Get your attorney to hire the leading medical experts in the field to review the conduct of the defendant-doctor to say what he or she did wrong. If that defendant-doctor parades his colleagues up to lie for him, make sure you have separate experts to blow holes in their lies to show to the jury who is really telling the truth. Strong experts make strong cases too.

Most importantly, as a potential juror or a juror, understand the nuances in this area of law. Physicians have a code of conduct between themselves just like police officers or gang members. Understand how these relationships work and know there is that peer pressure. You should carefully scrutinize potential bias witnesses and do your own investigations and fact finding at a trial—uncover the truth yourself.

But what do you think? I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment or I also welcome your phone call on my toll-free cell at 1-866-889-6882 or you can drop me an e-mail at jfisher@fishermalpracticelaw.com. You are always welcome to request my FREE book, The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims, at the home page of my website at www.protectingpatientrights.com.