Even though I have practiced law for over thirty-five years, I still haven’t seen everything! For instance:
1. One of my clients had to be airlifted to a trauma center by a helicopter following a terrible car crash. The helicopter bill was more than $16,000! This was for a fifteen minute helicopter ride. What was more amazing was that even though his car insurance paid $10,000, the helicopter company still wanted the remaining $6,000 from my client. If you need more information on insurance coverages, please call Steve Karp or Peter hart.
2. Medical experts who testify in medical malpractice cases can get away with charging exorbitant fees for their testimony. In my last medical malpractice case, a doctor charged $20,000 for a report. He wanted an additional $15,000 to testify in court at trial. If those same doctors were seeing patients in their offices, they would be getting about $250 an hour from Medicare. Unfortunately, it is very hard for us to find physicians to testify against other doctors. This, despite the fact that the client may have an extremely meritorious case and fairness would cry out for physicians to offer testimony against other physicians who have acted incompetently. Unfortunately, most doctors are unwilling to testify against other doctors. It is only the few, the proud and the brave who are secure enough in their positions and understand the need to police their profession, who come forward to assist. With that, however, comes a large price tag.
Stephen M. Karp (8/6/09)
