Ironic and Sad

From the AP:

Doctor Proposes Not Treating Some Lawyers
Mon Jun 14, 7:38 AM ET Add Health - AP to My Yahoo!
By TARA BURGHART, Associated Press Writer

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You know where this goes, the doctors at the AMA went ballistic when this was proposed, and they aren't going to come close to endorsing this kind of proposal. But here's the interesting part of the story, in the last two paragraphs:

"Last week, the daughter of a Mississippi legislator said she was denied treatment by a plastic surgeon because her father opposes limits in damage suits against doctors.

Dr. Michael Kanosky said he referred Kimberly Banks to other plastic surgeons to have her burn scars removed because he had lobbied on the other side of the issue and saw an ethical conflict."

So...her father is against limiting malpractice damages against doctors...and she's having trouble finding a plastic surgeon to treat her burn scars...wait a second...I've got it! She needs to find the kind of plastic surgeon who doesn't care about being exposed to unlimited personal liability if a jury decides they've committed malpractice. I'm sure that there are plenty of intelligent men and women out there who are qualified to be plastic surgeons and who will just accept that they have unlimited personal liability when they agree to help someone get rid of their burn scars. Which, by the way, I'll point out is a totally elective, COSMETIC procedure that is freely sought and invited by this patient.

ADD (6/14/04): In an article I found about tort reform in Mississippi, "Tort Reform in Mississippi Legislature Dies, Revives and Dies Again," Earnest McBride, freelance writer for the Jackson Advocate, noted that "Jefferson County, Mississippi, has been the venue for some of the largest class action suits in the nation, including the f$14.5 billion en-phen diet settlement and the multi-billion dollar tobacco lawsuit, both with national implication."