Willamette Week's Dave Mazza reports in this week's issue about a rash of student complaints at Portland's Western Culinary Institute. According to the article, some 800 students pay $39,000 for culinary training. According to the article, students claim that the trade school promises a rich and rewarding career in the restaurant business. The story details problems with program, including over crowded classes, limited facilities and over-promised rosy futures.
Those who know the food and restaurant trade will tell you that the average kitchen job rarely pays more than modest wages. Celebrity TV chefs are the exception. According to the article, many of these young men and women are incurring substantial debt and leave the school with limited options beyond low-paying work.
Here's the url to the story: http://wweek.com/editorial/3405/10113/
While it's hard to draw conclusions based on a single news story may, if the report is accurate, a number of these students may have various consumer claims. Thankfully, Oregon law provides a number of different avenues for those students who might choose to seek relief.
David F. Sugerman
www.pspc.com
Paul & Sugerman, PC
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Three Errors in Brain Surgeries Highlight Need for Civil Justice System
A recent news report reveals that at one prominent Rhode Island hospital, three different brain surgeries performed by three different surgeons involved surgery on the wrong side of the head. Same hospital. All in one year. Here's a url to the MSNBC report: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22263412/
The report details how surgeons and nurses failed to comply with safety procedures designed to ensure that surgery is done at the correct site. The regulating agency, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals gets 8 reports a month of wrong-site surgery, but the Commission notes that hospitals are not required to report these incidents. As a consequence, the rate of error from this type of medical mistake is believed to be 10 times higher than the reported rate.
If you think about it, surgery is a fairly intense way to treat a big medical problem. To cure, the surgeon is literally cutting into the human body and removing and restructuring the body. That's a bit obvious, of course, but it's an important concept when thinking about what it means to do surgery at the wrong site. It's another form of unnecessary surgery, and that's no small thing for the patient.
When we undergo surgery, patients literally surrender all control to the doctor and medical staff. We're put under and have no way to gently say, "Excuse me, doctor, but it's the other hip."
The best outcome would be that the surgical team review and re-review the patient's chart to make sure that surgery is being performed where it is needed. Failing that, the patient's only recourse is the civil justice system. This is the only place where ordinary people have the ability to call wrongdoers to account. This is true even when the wrongdoer is rich and powerful.
So next time you hear a politician ranting about the "malpractice crisis" or "frivolous" lawsuits, it might be wise to remember that serious mistakes happen, and the system needs to remain open to address those errors.
David F. Sugerman
www.pspc.com
Paul & Sugerman, PC
The report details how surgeons and nurses failed to comply with safety procedures designed to ensure that surgery is done at the correct site. The regulating agency, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals gets 8 reports a month of wrong-site surgery, but the Commission notes that hospitals are not required to report these incidents. As a consequence, the rate of error from this type of medical mistake is believed to be 10 times higher than the reported rate.
If you think about it, surgery is a fairly intense way to treat a big medical problem. To cure, the surgeon is literally cutting into the human body and removing and restructuring the body. That's a bit obvious, of course, but it's an important concept when thinking about what it means to do surgery at the wrong site. It's another form of unnecessary surgery, and that's no small thing for the patient.
When we undergo surgery, patients literally surrender all control to the doctor and medical staff. We're put under and have no way to gently say, "Excuse me, doctor, but it's the other hip."
The best outcome would be that the surgical team review and re-review the patient's chart to make sure that surgery is being performed where it is needed. Failing that, the patient's only recourse is the civil justice system. This is the only place where ordinary people have the ability to call wrongdoers to account. This is true even when the wrongdoer is rich and powerful.
So next time you hear a politician ranting about the "malpractice crisis" or "frivolous" lawsuits, it might be wise to remember that serious mistakes happen, and the system needs to remain open to address those errors.
David F. Sugerman
www.pspc.com
Paul & Sugerman, PC
Friday, December 14, 2007
The Overstated Malpractice "Crisis"--Maryland Wants its Money Back
The Washington Post reports today that Maryland is demanding repayment of $84 million from a physician insurer because--here's some news--the medical malpractice "crisis" wasn't actually a crisis.
Back in 2004, then Gov. Ehrlic convened a special session to deal with what he termed the malpractice crisis. Maryland began to provide subsidies.
The insurer recently announced that it had a surplus and would pay some of the money back to the State and the rest to doctors in the form of a rebate for next year's coverage. State regulators weren't thrilled and instead demanded repayment of the $84 million which had been raised by a surcharge on HMO subscribers.
It's nice to see a state government stand firm and demand return of public money. It might be interesting to take a look back at who was fanning the flames on the non-crisis.
David F. Sugerman
www.pspc.com
Paul & Sugerman, PC
Back in 2004, then Gov. Ehrlic convened a special session to deal with what he termed the malpractice crisis. Maryland began to provide subsidies.
The insurer recently announced that it had a surplus and would pay some of the money back to the State and the rest to doctors in the form of a rebate for next year's coverage. State regulators weren't thrilled and instead demanded repayment of the $84 million which had been raised by a surcharge on HMO subscribers.
It's nice to see a state government stand firm and demand return of public money. It might be interesting to take a look back at who was fanning the flames on the non-crisis.
David F. Sugerman
www.pspc.com
Paul & Sugerman, PC
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
SE Portland Mother Killed on Sidewalk
It's gut wrenching to read this. A mother of three kids, Angela Buyas, was run over and killed by a 21-year old driver late Tuesday night on SE Stark in Portland. She was walking. On the sidewalk.
According to news reports, the driver, lost control of his vehicle due to speed and intoxication. That's fairly sanitized. So a speeding drunken driver decimated a family. It's another tragic driving under the influence story. This one is even more poignant because the children earlier lost their father, and are now orphaned.
The takeaway from this horror is that alcohol + driving = disaster.
David F. Sugerman
Paul & Sugerman, PC
www.pspc.com
According to news reports, the driver, lost control of his vehicle due to speed and intoxication. That's fairly sanitized. So a speeding drunken driver decimated a family. It's another tragic driving under the influence story. This one is even more poignant because the children earlier lost their father, and are now orphaned.
The takeaway from this horror is that alcohol + driving = disaster.
David F. Sugerman
Paul & Sugerman, PC
www.pspc.com
Monday, December 10, 2007
Washington Trial Judge Disciplined for Slurs
According to an Associated Press news report, the Washington Commission on Judicial Conduct censured Clark County Superior Court Judge John P. Wulle. In a public training session in Los Angeles last year, Judge Wulle reportedly referred to one speaker as, "the black gay guy." At the same forum, when the Clark County team--including Judge Wulle--was awarded a star for their performance, Judge Wulle loudly declaimed that he didn't need a star because, "I'm not a Jew."
I imagine it's tough being a judge because you're held to a higher standard. But there's good reason for that. It's hard to imagine that if you're black, gay or Jewish, you would be eager to have Judge Wulle decide your case.
Judge Wulle was ordered to undergo alcohol evaluation--some witnesses at the conference suggested that he smelled of alcohol. Judge Wulle disputes that alcohol was involved, saying instead that he had taken cough medicine. I have to say that as a trial lawyer, I would have derived more comfort from an admission of alcohol abuse, as it seems a lot less chilling than thinly concealed racial, religious and sexual orientation prejudices.
According to the news report, Judge Wulle was initially dismissive of complaints about his conduct. While he has since issued an apology of sorts--as in I didn't mean to offend anyone--it seems like there's a shortage of insight and willingness to confront some nastiness. Judge Wulle must also undergo judicial ethics and diversity training. Here's hoping it opens his eyes, as everyone deserves a judge who can be fair.
David F. Sugerman
www.pspc.com
Paul & Sugerman, PC
I imagine it's tough being a judge because you're held to a higher standard. But there's good reason for that. It's hard to imagine that if you're black, gay or Jewish, you would be eager to have Judge Wulle decide your case.
Judge Wulle was ordered to undergo alcohol evaluation--some witnesses at the conference suggested that he smelled of alcohol. Judge Wulle disputes that alcohol was involved, saying instead that he had taken cough medicine. I have to say that as a trial lawyer, I would have derived more comfort from an admission of alcohol abuse, as it seems a lot less chilling than thinly concealed racial, religious and sexual orientation prejudices.
According to the news report, Judge Wulle was initially dismissive of complaints about his conduct. While he has since issued an apology of sorts--as in I didn't mean to offend anyone--it seems like there's a shortage of insight and willingness to confront some nastiness. Judge Wulle must also undergo judicial ethics and diversity training. Here's hoping it opens his eyes, as everyone deserves a judge who can be fair.
David F. Sugerman
www.pspc.com
Paul & Sugerman, PC
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