Following Up on “Flea”

Frequent readers of my blog know that recently a medical malpractice trial was going on in Boston and the defendant doctor, a pediatrician, was blogging about it under the assumed name of “Flea.” Prior posts here, here, and here. Well, it appears the Flea’s true identify was revealed during his cross-examination. Eric Turkewitz, a New York personal injury attorney has also been blogging about the Flea and how his blog could impact his trial if discovered. What is even more interesting than the fact that the Flea was blogging about his own trial is how outraged the medical community is that a) the blog was taken down, and (b) that the blog had a negative impact on the Flea during trial. I really dont’ know what the Flea (or his supporters for that matter) expected. You don’t need to be a lawyer to know that discussing attorney client priviliged communications on the internet during your trial is a bad thing. Where I am most disappointed is how quickly other doctor’s jumped on the bandwagon to support the Flea, without knowing the facts of the case. It is almost as if doctors beleive that no doctor has ever been negligent and every lawsuit ever filed against a healthcare provider is frivolous and malicious. Well folks, that simply is not true. Doctors are people, and people make mistakes; however, doctors are the only category of people who have sought to limit their responsibility when the make a mistake (tort reform). Well, I won’t go off on that tangent. Suffice it to ask. Will we see “Return of the Flea.” Hans Poppe