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Running Doctors Out Of The Emergency Room

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 11, 2007

I am writing this as a warning to readers who may at some time seek emergency medical care at one of our area hospitals. You may find that there are no doctors to treat your injuries from a car or motorcycle accident, a burn injury, head trauma or severe medical illness. Just as 'video killed the radio star,' plaintiffs' lawsuits filed when there are bad outcomes, rather than true malpractice, will keep qualified specialists from taking 'call' in emergency rooms.

My case in point is the recent decision by a jury to award Sally Lucia $30 million for the loss of her legs and fingers. Tragic, yes. A result of malpractice? I don't think so. I admit that I don't have all the facts presented by both sides, but I have spoken to Dr. George Haedicke, the surgeon on call, who was found to be 20 percent liable for a total of $6 million.

Mrs. Lucia had a tummy tuck in early 2001 and had problems following surgery. Apparently, the plastic surgeon who did the original abdominal surgery told her to go to the emergency room if she had problems, which she did on Super Bowl Sunday in 2001. The surgeon also happened to be in South Florida at the time she went to the ER.

Dr. Haedicke was on call for Memorial Hospital and came in to see her. He evaluated her, drained her abdomen, ordered antibiotics and consulted four other physicians (who were also sued) to evaluate her condition. Her own surgeon returned to Tampa later that afternoon to assume care. Dr. Haedicke had seen her for a total of five hours.

Mrs. Lucia's attorney, Steve Yerrid, is good. He recently won a case for more than $200 million against another hospital and group of emergency room physicians. He wins lofty awards for those who have been 'wronged,' but it never seems to be about 'the money.' He creates empathy that jurors feel for his client. He was quoted as saying that Mrs. Lucia and her husband were 'righteous.'

I've know Dr. Haedicke for more than 15 years. He is a religious man who tragically lost his 10-year-old son in a vehicular accident. When I spoke with him, he told me he's been thinking about Mrs. Lucia's case for the past six years. He says with conviction that if he had the opportunity to do it again, he would have treated her in the same manner.

For the past 20 years, Dr. Haedicke has been one of the rare 'go to' surgeons in Tampa when there were patients with injuries so severe that no one else would take them. He's done more than 50,000 operations, saving many lives, and has not been sued.

We, of course, feel sorry for Mrs. Lucia, who had her legs amputated below the knees and her fingers removed because of lack of blood flow. The truth is that she came to Memorial Hospital in septic shock and multiple organ failure, a condition in which the death rate can be as high as 90 percent, but her life was saved. Now she can see her three children grow up. Had she died, I doubt this suit would have taken place, but because she survived and had an untoward outcome, she decided to sue.

One of the plaintiff's witnesses, a surgeon from Texas who was not certified in critical care, testified that Dr. Haedicke acted with 'reckless disregard.' Thankfully, the jury rejected that claim, and even though they found him at fault, said that he was not reckless. He may not have to pay the $6 million if Judge Gregory Holder upholds the Good Samaritan law in Florida.

Let's also hope that Judge Holder reduces the claim against Memorial Hospital, or else there might be a time when small private hospitals decide that really sick people cannot come to their emergency rooms. And doctors may not want to be 'on call' to see sick people either - with the possibility of being sued and having their lives and careers devastated for what is truly reasonable care.

Tampa has lost a great surgeon; Dr. Haedicke is now living outside of Tallahassee. The administrator at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital was hoping he would be director of the Level Two trauma center that was opening. He declined.

Can you blame him?

David Lubin is a Tampa physician.

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