How Do You Defend The Indefensible?
This week two Florida doctors that got hammered with a $217 million medical malpractice verdict are turning the table: on their own attorneys. Claiming that the attorneys failed to properly advise them of $1 and $3 million dollar settlement offers by the plaintiff, the doctors suing for professional negligence, fraudulently concealing information, and failing to properly advise.
Of course, the doctors would have quickly settled the case, but the defense lawyers are not paid by the doctors, they are paid by the insurance company. The insurance company absolutely refused to settle. One doctor has stated that he was pressured by attorneys to essetially perjur himself on the stand or his case woud be "indefensible and that he would be looking at a $20 million judgment against him."
You can read the facts here, but the doctors committed gross negligence and the case should never have gone to trial. However, the medical liability insurance company involved in the case stuck to the industry standard of delay, deny, and defend. Unfortunately, the defense attorneys in the case performed as essentially lackeys for the insurance company, and were forced to try the case. Big mistake. Now they are looking down the barrel of their own malpractice suit. Nonetheless, the malpractice insurance carrier committed the real malpractice and fraud in refusing to settle the claim.