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John Edwards Fortune: Junk Science and Exorcising the Voice of Children

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by F.D. Khan, Jan 8, 2008.

  1. F.D. Khan

    F.D. Khan Member

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    John Edwards vs. Babies and Moms
    March 21, 2007


    John Edwards, being neither a woman nor a racial minority, isn't doing especially well in his campaign to become the Democratic Party's candidate for the U.S. presidency. Alas for him, if he were half as successful in campaigning for America's top job as he was as a trial lawyer, he might be sworn in tomorrow. Edwards won at least 94 cases, according to Lawyers Weekly, of which 54 netted more than $1 million each. Normally attorneys take a 40 percent cut of cases that go to trial. In his last year as a practicing attorney, 1997, he reported an adjusted gross income of $11.4 million. Of course, despite their slimy reputation, trial lawyers can be on the side of right. It just happens Edwards wasn't.

    Medical malpractice was his specialty, and he reportedly tried more than 60 such cases, winning more than $1 million in over half of those. Most involved Ob/gyns. Indeed, he was so feared, according to the Center for Public Integrity, "that doctors would settle cases for millions of dollars rather than face him at trial."

    Edwards' specialty was cerebral palsy, a set of permanent conditions affecting control of movement and posture that usually appear at toddler stage. There is no cure, although stem cell studies in both humans (umbilical cord cells) and rats (neural cells) have produced promising results. More than 10,000 U.S. children are diagnosed with it yearly. Edwards claimed the disease developed because negligent doctors ignored fetal heart monitors indicating the child might not be getting enough air during birth and thus failed to deliver it immediately through cesarean surgery.

    Yet Edwards won his cases not because scientific evidence favored him but because of his smooth-talking "trust-me" demeanor -- and heart-wrenching pleas in which he ghoulishly sometimes pretended to be the voice of the unfortunate child crying out for justice.

    It's not considered impossible that asphyxiation during birth could cause cerebral palsy; just darned unlikely. United Cerebral Palsy lists about a dozen ways to help prevent the condition. Not one mentions the birthing procedure.

    A 2003 study evaluated almost 1,000 life births to see if cerebral palsy or other problems could by affected by type of birth. Conclusion: "Delivery mode (whether vaginal or cesarean delivery) was not associated with any of the outcomes that were evaluated."

    Months earlier, another study observed that cerebral palsy rates have shown "no change over 30 years" despite fetal monitoring and a huge increase in the number of C-sections. Further, "The prevalence of cerebral palsy is the same or lower in underdeveloped countries than in developed nations," even though "emergency cesarean delivery based on electronic monitor data is limited or absent."

    Now here's the horrible kicker: A Swedish report released in December found that emergency cesarean delivery increased the odds of cerebral palsy by a statistically significant 80 percent. It's bad for the mother, too. Another 2006 study, in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, found that moms with cesareans had more than three-and-a-half times the chance of dying shortly after childbirth than those who had vaginal delivery.

    "Some of the increased risks for the mother include possible infection of the uterus and nearby pelvic organs; increased bleeding; blood clots in the legs, pelvic organs and sometimes the lungs, says the March of Dimes. Further, cesarean birth "is more painful, is more expensive, and takes longer to recover from than a vaginal birth," says the group.

    But scientific reality is but a minor hurdle to slick plaintiffs lawyers like Edwards. Insurance companies fork over massive payments to plaintiffs and their lawyers, then pass the costs on to doctors in malpractice fees. In one state, annual Ob/gyn malpractice premiums have reached $250,000.


    An image from the website of trial lawyers who handle cerebral palsy cases. Touching, isn't it?

    Many doctors are fleeing the practice as fast as they can tie off that last umbilical cord. One in seven of fellows of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have quit obstetrics and many rural areas now have no such doctors.

    Meanwhile health insurance premiums have skyrocketed, in part because doctors don't just absorb higher malpractice fees; they also pass them on.

    Further, in what's called "defensive medicine," lawsuit fears increased the number of "When in doubt, cut it out" C-sections. Cesareans in the U.S. had begun dropping in the late 1980s, going as low as 22 percent of deliveries. As Edwards and friends spread fear across the Ob/gyn land, rates began to climb again. The rate is now 30.2 percent, a record high for the nation.

    There are probably many reasons for the increased popularity of C-sections, before and after the Edwards era. One is that women often choose it over the pain of labor Dr. Bruce Flamm, clinical professor of Ob/gyn at UC Irvine, told me. Still, "The biggest reason is probably the litigation issue" he said.

    Photos released by the Edwards campaign often feature him surrounded by his wife and kids. No doubt he loves them very much. It's too bad he thinks so little of the families of others.
     
  2. pirc1

    pirc1 Member

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    He is not getting elected, why do you care?
     
  3. gifford1967

    gifford1967 Member
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    you need to provide a link for this.
     
  4. rhadamanthus

    rhadamanthus Member

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    I care. Edwards seems like a nice guy. I appreciate data that might indicate the opposite. That way I can write him off as another scumbag, and abhor the idea of him being involved in the political arena.

    I swear, politics attracts these kind of people like garbage attracts flies. Incidentally, this is why, after many years of being against it, I now support term limits.

    Sorry for the derail.

    For the record, I think this part of the article is particularly poignant.
     
  5. pirc1

    pirc1 Member

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    I would love term limits for congress and set limit on max campaign money one can raise.
     
  6. pgabriel

    pgabriel Educated Negro

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    I think its a red herring
     
  7. deepblue

    deepblue Member

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    I am glad this weasel that made a fortune bankrupting OB/GYNs is not going win. I would choose Obama or even Hillary long before him.

    He is not taking money from corporate lobbyists, but he won't mention the millions from trial lawyers.
     
  8. leroy

    leroy Member
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    7 prior posts and no one used this?

     
  9. glynch

    glynch Member

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    Reminds me of the threads about whether 1) Is Obama dangerous or 2) is Obama a supporter of reparations.

    Where is the link?
     
  10. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    We still don't have a link. Gotta have a link. If you have no link, edit the post and remove the material.

    (I don't think I'm out of line saying that! ;) )




    Impeach Bush.
     
  11. glynch

    glynch Member

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  12. rhadamanthus

    rhadamanthus Member

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    Explain.
     
  13. pgabriel

    pgabriel Educated Negro

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    well you know the source is dubious when it starts off with this line, which I really don't have too much of problem with but it has nothing to do with the overall piece. just a shot at the overall democratic primary and its voting base.
     
  14. torque

    torque Member
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    Medical malpractice suits are a huge reason why America's health costs are so high. No other country on earth matches the USA in $$$ lost to medical malpractice suits and it's not even close.

    Edwards talks about being a man of the people - he's really just a scumbag lawyer causing hardship for millions of Americans facing higher and higher healthcare costs.
     
  15. Major

    Major Member

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    There was massive tort reform in Texas that limited medical malpractice liability and such in 03/04. It had exactly zero effect on health care costs in Texas.
     
  16. F.D. Khan

    F.D. Khan Member

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    A friend of mine did a procedure on a lady (gastro for stomach pain) who had previously had stomach stapling surgery. She died two days later after she was in pain for two days, when her husband slept and didn't take her to the hospital though in severe pain when the doctor said if in dire pain go to the hospital.

    She was 45 and died. There was a lawsuit. The financial model the lawyers used had her being worth over $1.5 million dollars in the next twenty years despite the fact that she worked at Wal-mart and had no savings. The physician witness, hospital as well as expert witness stated that the doctor
    had no culpability. It settled for $400,000 because the insurance company was scared to go to trial.

    That is a large reason why healthcare costs skyrocket.


    The reason why neurosurgeon's are going out of business is that they are being sued left and right for situations that are not their fault.

    The common scenario: there is a car accident in which an individual hits
    their head very hard. All the neurosurgeon can do is drain the blood and hope that there was not too much damage to the brain. Then weeks later
    the patient begins having neurological problems as a result of the accident.
    The neurosurgeon is sued.

    The Edwards common scenario: a baby is born with cerebral palsy. Sue the doctor and say it was delivered incorrectly. No real true evidence, but the jury is sad for the parents and in our society there is always someone
    to blame.
     
  17. Major

    Major Member

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    Except that cases of this sort are the vast, vast minority of medical malpractice cases and have a negligible effect on the multi-billion dollar industry. Perhaps a better way to control costs would be to simply put "legal fee reform" and cap the fees that lawyers charge such that defending all of the suits - legitimate and not - costs a fraction of what it currently does. That would go much further to cutting costs than eliminating a few big judgements.

    Besides, what does this have to do with the fact that there WAS tort reform that promised to cut costs and brings rates down and had no such impact whatsoever?
     
  18. pgabriel

    pgabriel Educated Negro

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    its a red herring.

    I read a very good column on health insurance costs about 4 years ago and it places the blame on over usage.

    the key points to the column were

    health insurance history. Health insurance came about during world war II (i don't remember if it was all health insurance or employer provided) because the government put a cap on salaries to prevent workers from leaving industries that they felt were crucial to the war effort. so one of the perks employers started using to entice workers was health insurance. back then people pretty much paid health care costs out of pocket.

    whats the point, people have begun to abuse health insurance. kid gets a sniffle, go to doctor. get a large cut on your arm doing some work outside, go to doctor. these little trips to the doctor are the reason health insurance has sky rocketted. People just abuse the system, not criminally, but just over use it. its outdated.

    but I'm not putting the blame on the average joe citizen, because when you have kids why not be careful. why not be careful with yourself. but i believe its the main reason the system is breaking.

    of course insurance costs get pushed down to the consumer, but a doctor's insurance costs is a fraction of what you are being charged in a typical visit.
     
  19. weslinder

    weslinder Member

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    I think a lot of the "over-usage" is from doctors and hospitals running unnecessary tests and so on. When patients don't ever see the bill, doctors will do whatever makes them the most money. I know that when I changed insurance to a high-deductible plan three years ago and told my clinic I was paying cash (they still had to file it on my insurance, but I paid before I left), I ended up being charged much less for treatment of my spring allergies than when I had an HMO. I don't think there is an epidemic of marginally sick people going in for treatment that they don't need. The health insurance providers have been successful in moving market forces away from the consumer-provider relationship.
     
  20. Air Langhi

    Air Langhi Contributing Member

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    Medical Malpractice suit "including legal fees, insurance costs, and payouts, the cost of the suits comes to less than one-half of 1 percent of health-care spending." The high cost of suits is a bunch of BS spit out by doctors and insurace industry. Edwards was good at what he did and that is why he was rich. I don't know enough about his policies to know if he would make a good president, but lets not critize him for being good at his job. Insurace companies usually don't lose money.
     

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