Accusations continue, suggesting that he rushed through pre-surgery process. The accused physicians are refusing to settle:
But Kaplan had tests to schedule: a psychiatric evaluation was necessary, and Weis needed to meet with a nutritionist. Appointments that usually took two weeks to get were set up in a day or two.“He was busy with a number of events during that time period that related to the Patriots previous season, events related to the fact that they won the Super Bowl. But we got it done,” Kaplan said.
“Do I believe we cut corners?” Kaplan asked and answered: “Quite the opposite.”
Update -
The jury sides with the doctors. A reminder that not all unfortunate outcomes are due to medical error.
Related posts:
- Charlie Weis’ malpractice trial
- Charlie Weis: Malpractice trial reactions
- Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis’ malpractice lawsuit
- Charlie Weis takes the stand
- A juror faints, the defendants rush to help: A mistrial in the Charlie Weis case
- Charlie Weis: Surgery against medical advice?
- Charlie Weis takes losing badly
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{ 5 comments }
Without being privy to the facts of this particular case…
Why on earth is Weis focusing on the speed of the pre-surgery work-up before the bypass? I have seen plenty of patients with first-day-consult, second-day-pretesting, third-day-operation. At least a third of those were elective operations, most of them baratric. The workups are used to rule out preexisting heart/pulm issues, find hiatal hernias, and prove that the patient is psychologically stable and understanding of the post-surgery nutritional needs.
None of this seems to bear on his unfortunate case. Leaks happen even with the best of surgeons, and have nothing to do with how fast the pretesting was done. Perhaps if he ordered them to do the surgery in half an hour rather than two, I’d believe him.
The fact that he’s concentrating on something as ridiculous as the pre-surgery EEG suggests he has no case. Any real malpractice suit would have already ordered up six witnesses to “prove” that the 30-hour hold on surgery was a violation of standard of care.
I have no idea if it was malpractice with no access to the facts. However, given Weis’s new strategy, my sympathies lie entirely with the surgeons.
Er, ECG. Wrong specialty.
Kevin, the only people who think others believe all bad outcomes are due to medical negligence are physicians.
Most of the population does not believe that.
The speed of the workup is relevant if the patient in fact hasn’t really thought about the risk they are taking and are, while signing the form and nodding yes, not really accepting these risks as a real possibility for them and taking responsibility for exposing themself to them.
That has nothing to do with the likelyhood of the complication, but a great deal to do with the likelihood of the patient suing over a complication.
It amazes me that some surgeons, otherwise capable and competent, have a mental block against understanding the difference between the consent form and informed consent, and the different levels, some unconscious at which people say “yes” and how that impacts the doctor-patient relationship their management of post-operative events. Not all surgeons, or even most, but some. It must be something about their “theory of mind” just not ecompassing ambiguity.
“Weis nearly died after the 2002 surgery. He testified that he still has numbness and pain in his feet and sometimes has to use a motorized cart.”
He has to use a motorized cart because of his fat ass…look at his picture, after gastric bypass and bleeding…his chin has not even started to show any.
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