Medical Special Round Up

Doctors seem to be making all the legal news in Nevada lately. Whether they're handing out HIV to unsuspecting patients or handing out prescriptions to pain killers on demand, Vegas doctors always make for a good time.

So, today we present the medical special round up:

First, the jury is out in the criminal trial of Dr. Bass. According to the Review-Journal, Dr. Bass made house calls to homes and hotel rooms, sometimes selling "several hundred doses of painkillers such as Vicodin or Lortab from his mobile pharmacy." The RJ reports:

Bass is now on trial for second-degree murder and illegally selling controlled substances. Prosecutors say Bass is responsible for the death of 38-year-old Gina Micali, who overdosed in October 2005 on pain relievers Bass illegally sold her.

In Federal Court, admittedly crooked Dr. Venger's wife took the stand yesterday and testified that Noel Gage threatened to ruin her husband if he didn't give the Gage & Gage personal injury firm quick access to his clinic.

Meanwhile, the clinic that gave Vegas its newest black eye, Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, has closed its doors after putting 40,000 residents at risk for contracting Hep-C and HIV. Don't worry though, state officials have answered public concerns by urging patients to ask basic safety questions to their doctor before receiving treatment.

[Great advice. That will solve everything. "Yes, doctor. I would like a flu shot, but first: is that a new needle? are you reusing cotton balls that you used to diagnose someone with HIV? has your nurse washed his hands since taking the temperature of that guy with Hep-C before me?" Nevada officials--they're on the ball.]

But just to make sure the doctors don't steal the limelight for most arrogant negligent assholes in Vegas, the lawyers stepped up the plate. An editorial in the Review-Journal claims the real problem here is that Nevada voters limited the amount a victim can recover for medical malpractice.

Ok, so maybe that is a valid policy concern and Vegas lawyers aren't worse than Vegas doctors, but wait . . . the Las Vegas Sun reports:

As if the airwaves weren’t already saturated with commercials for personal injury lawyers, last week’s revelation of a potential hepatitis outbreak immediately prompted many of them to bombard the public with bold advertisements whose blood-red message is: You may be at risk! . . .

In the latest case, “these people did nothing wrong and now they’ve been exposed to potentially lethal diseases,” said Las Vegas attorney Francis Churchill, who is promoting his firm as an option on craigslist.com. “At some point, the court will appoint a lead counsel ... and the attorneys will come together and work on it.”

Ah, lawyers working for the public good. And thank god for those informative public service messages they are splashing on tv with the blood-red message "You may be at risk!" How selfless of the Vegas personal injury attorneys.