Malpractice Books

The story takes place in the early 1800s, in a remote fishing post on the Bonavista peninsula in Newfoundland. The Andrews family, having been evicted from their home in England, bribed the captain of a French merchant ship to drop them off in the northwest Atlantic territories. They are dropped off at a place about 100 miles from St. John's, Newfoundland, a place called Cape Random. The only inhabitants of the cape are the Vincent family and a man named Thomas Hutchings, who keeps the books of account for the St. John's businessman who owns the fishing rights for the cape. A severe winter is approaching and the Andrews are entirely at the mercy of the Vincents and Thomas Hutchings. The story follows the lives of the Andrews, the Vincents and Mr. Hutchings for about twenty years.

We follow the story mainly through the eyes and the journal of young Lavinia Andrews. About two-thirds of the way through the book, Thomas Hutchings becomes the narrator. It is a tale of ice, snow, death and deprivation with little or no hope of escape from this harsh place, isolated from the rest of the world. In the meanwhile, they work hard at salting and curing fish and hunting seals, most of it for the benefit of Caleb Grosse, the St. John's businessman who sends a boat twice each year to pick up the salted fish and to drop off provisions such as flour, salt, molasses and, sometimes, one or two goats. In the spring, some of the men go to St. John's to join the large-scale seal hunting expeditions.

From time to time, the book shifts its focus from one member of the subject families to another, thereby giving the reader an idea of what each of the characters is thinking. It is an engrossing narrative of what life must have been like in these remote places 200 years ago. Over the twenty years of the story, interest is kept alive by many twists and turns involving births, deaths, illness, domestic and economic crises and the ever-present cold.

It is a book that holds your interest. Just when you think you know what to expect, the narrative takes a sharp turn in the other direction. It is easy to read and very entertaining. It helps me understand why my grandmother used to say, that she "t'anked God" the day she left that place.

As I traveled through Newfoundland in June 1999, this book was in the racks of every shop on my route. At first, I thought it must have been Newfoundland's version of "Anne of Green Gables", but I picked it up and discovered that the story of its characters actually had more in common with Jamestown or even the Donner Party than those of Lucy M. Montgomery's children's tale.

Addressing hardships of maritime living, displaced class struggles and faith-based separations, Ms. Morgan progresses her story of the lives of outcast English family members and their fellow re-settlers at the Cape (Random). Once ashore on Newfound Land, their survival, conflicts, and cultural shifts make the reader shiver and shudder with the cold, fear, hunger and pain as felt by the characters. Morgan's story is depicted through a tactile understanding of the topography, climate, flora, fauna and cultural history. This not only leads readers through this fictional account of a past settlement in Newfoundland, but sets up how these characters' challenges and beliefs are still reflected in the culture of present day Newfoundland, as shown in the pride, warmth, persistence and humility of the people of "the Rock". A worthy read.

I enjoyed Random Passage. I couldn't put it down. Only when I read it, it was called Cape Random. What goes? I actually started to read Random Passage but soon realized that I had already perused these pages as Cape Random

I truly enjoyed this book. The author has woven the history of Newfound Land in a story rich with authentic and passionate characters. Bernice Morgan has a way of bringing the characters alive, so that I could not put the book down once I started it. This story is a testament to the endurance of human nature, but also to our capacity to love and to marvel at the world around us. I am ordering the sequel, and once I've read it, I am going to look for the videos. I also want to read more books by this author.
Sincerely, Francine Noiseux

On a visit to Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula, this book's title always surfaced when I quizzed locals on cultural and historical points. It was about a 12-hour read, and I found it very easy to justify putting distractions aside to read this involving book. I felt that having two separate accounts of events, each through the eyes of two of the book's characters, really added to the depth of the story. No wonder why Newfoundlanders are so proud of the heritage that grew from the struggles on "the rock."

Dr. Moskovitz presents a great case study, and a great analysis of a malpractice case. He also gives an excellent presentation of a psychotherapy case. Dr. Moskovitz sets the stage carefully and then the blook takes off and goes flying. I particularly enjoyed the vivid descriptions of Boston. Dr. Moskovitz's book brings about intriguing speculation about repressed memories. I highly recommend this book.

This engrossing book is for anyone who is addicted to the court-room, Law and Order-type suspense genre. As the drama unfolds, the author provides a sometimes disturbing window into the minds and hearts of each of the characters with even-handed, reportial detail.

As someone who is a survivor of trauma and abuse at the hands of my Bio father,I found this book to be excellent for survivors.I was impressed with the quality of the writing and the content.I read it in one night.The book is well balanced,written with sincerity and guts.One of the best books I have read on this topic.I highly recommend it.

As a psychiatrist, I found Dr. Moskovitz's novel, "Carousel Music" both entertaining and believable. His treatment of the controversial repressed memories and confidentiality issues is sensitive and insightful. They are addressed in the context of a mystery story complete with a surprising twist at the end. The development of the intricate characters and their interactions is very realistic, and I found the most interesting dialogue occurring during the courtroom scenes.

The reader is challenged to predict the outcome not only of the trial, but also of the novel itself. This is a well-researched page-turner, which clearly shows the complex thought processes of a psychiatric patient, her relatives, the treating physician, and the attorneys who become involved. I look forward to Dr. Moskovitz's next book.

Fred Miley, M. D.
Immediate Past President, Florida Psychiatric Society

The author's easy writing style takes the reader through the trauma and drama of the abuse, the courtroom, and the anguish of mental illness. I read this novel from cover to cover in just one night which is no small feat considering my busy lifestyle, but I just had to know how it all turned out.

Richard Moskovitz develops his characters well and brings them to life with compassion, intelligence and skill. Having worked closely with victims of abuse I can say that this novel is right on the mark. Therapists and suvivors should read Carousel Music.

If you want to know the truth about the medical system and the enormous number of errors and cover-ups within that system, read this book. Well-researched with many shocking and heart-breaking case studies, the book provides answers as well as showing the problems. Thank goodness someone had the courage to buck the system and break down the Wall of Silence for all of us.

This is a better book by far than the unfortunately better known INTERNAL BLEEDING. It is certainly more honest. It has the clear advantage of being written by people who know and understand the subject ,and unlike Internal Bleeding, it does not suffer the disadvantage of having been written by physicians who, purposfully or otherwise, seem very intent in obscuring the responsibility for medical mistakes.

The authors of Wall of Silence have written an honest and valuable book deciding (to the public's advantage) to let the chips fall where they may. A MUST READ!!

This book is a well researched, well written must read for all Americans. The authors share their personal story as well as the stories of others who have suffered at the hands of a careless physician. While the stories will break your heart, they may also save your life, or the life of someone you love. While none of us want to believe that those we trust with our bodies and our lives would neglect a sacred trust, the fact is it is happening all too often. This book delivers the message without hype, fear or hysteria. Read it, share it and take it with you.

What separates Wall of Silence by Gibson and Singh from other books on this topic is the refreshing and bold truth telling contained within it's human stories of pain, injustice and frustration. Not only did the authors shoulder the risks and courage requisite for listening to and then writing about the human face, consequences and devastation of needless medical error tragedies, but they also ferreted out and exposed the ugly truths, told by medical providers themselves, about how the pervasive greed, secrecy and code of silence in the healthcare industry works to bury medical mistakes through a host of means; including blackballing and burying the careers of the competent and ethical medical providers who dare to tell the truth and who place patients above profits. As a medical provider, I can find no better way to encapsulate the meaning and hope of this treatise than through those words offered by the Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. This book is, as she states, 'A call to arms for families who have had loved ones disabled or die in the pursuit of medical treatment.' And, I can only hope that it could also catalyze a 'Call to Arms' for medical providers who wish to return medicine and healthcare to the patient oriented, compassionate, ethical and hippocratic way of practice.

If even one person dies, that is one too many. But it is not just one, not even 10 or 100 patients who are maimed and dying from health care mistakes. As Gibson and Singh reveal, the numbers are much much higher than that. And anyone of them could be you or your loved ones. Medical errors do not discriminate. Everyone is vulnerable even doctors themselves as patients.

Yes, to error is human but that really doesn't appear to be the problem here. A great deal of the problem appears to be that a percentage of health care providers make multiple errors because no one stops them. According to Grayson and Singh many nurses do not recommend their place of employment to their family and friends.

When people are not held accountable for their actions and the consequences of those actions everyone is endangered. Taking or being forced to take personal responsiblity for your actions and their consequences plays a large part in how many mistakes you make.

I would think it would be every irresponsible health care provider's nightmare to literally have to personally experience everything that they inflict on their patients.

Since health care providers are safe from the magic wishing wand, the next best thing is to guard against such mistakes and be public with the information. It is a matter of ethics. When you are ten and don't want to "rat out" a buddy it is rarely life or death. But health care providers are not ten anymore and it is their ethical obligation to put the safety their patients or potential patients first. Please read this book and tell others about it. All of our lives depend on it.

One family's fight to reform the medical system is documented in this excellent, but gut-wrenching book. The author, Dorothy Cancilla, a bright and feisty woman, who learned the hard way how callous and incompetent some medical providers can be. Death by HMO documents her daughter Jennifer's eight years of painful illness that eventually led to a premature and avoidable death. Jennifer died four days before her 30th birthday.

I'm amazed at how much information and detail is compiled into this 132-page book. The reader gets an education on the human body, and the tragic errors made by doctors at every turn become very clear.

Jennifer's problems began with frequent abdominal pain and vomiting. While doctors debated about the cause of her suffering, she trusted her doctor who literally butchered her by removing her pancreas, instead of her gallbladder. Jennifer, who was somebody's mother, wife, daughter and sister, tried to live a normal life around many hospital stays and surgeries. Cancilla portrays her youngest daughter as heroic. Anyone reading this book will fall in love with Jennifer, but what pulls at my heart is Cancilla's loss--a mother's loss--that never goes away. She honors her daughter and family by writing this book.

People need to know what can happen to any of us once we put ourselves in someone else's hands. We must advocate for ourselves and our loved ones. We cannot assume that the doctor is always right. We have to keep in mind that the only body we have has to last us a lifetime. We are the ones who are affected by wrong decisions. Ultimately we must consider the medical professionals as part of our team. They are expert consultants and sometimes gifted surgeons. But even the most dedicated doctors are imperfect, not God-like. Even decent medical people may be cajoled into betraying their patients by the HMO who pays their salary.

Death by HMO will surprise and dismay you. But you will be inspired by the courage of Dorothy Cancilla and her family. This story has all the elements for a great movie.

> This is a very well written and documented story of a family trying to get professional medical care for their daughter (Jenny) at Kaiser Hospital...

> Jenny's family took it for granted that all Hospitals were "100% Dedicated at Maintaining a Very High Standard and keeping all of their patients in Excellent Health"...

> Without going into detail their daughter who was in her early 20's had a medical condition that seemed to be getting worse...

> This family was in for a Rude Awakening when they took Jenny to Kaiser Hospital to be diagnosed and treated...

> What they found out is that Kaiser Hospital did not want acknowledge or admit anything was wrong with "Jenny" and Refused to provide the Correct Diagnostic Tests that "would or would not" verify that she had medical condition that needed treated ASAP...

> Jenny's family spent the next "8" years trying to have their daughter Correctly Diagnosed and Treated at Kaiser Hospital with the end result being that the only thing "this hospital" had to offer them were Lies, Deception and Denial by repeatedly telling them that their daughter "did not" have any medical problems at all...

> What was found out later in Court by Professional Medical Experts and Doctors was that Jenny was provided with "100% Extreme Sub-Standard Medical Care" at "this HMO" starting with her very first visit...

> To put it simply: This young lady could have been Diagnosed - Treated and Cured by the Lowest 10% of the Graduates fresh out of Medical School because as it turned out Jenny had an Elementary Medical Condition that could have been Easily Diagnosed and Cured with Proper Professional Treatment...

> After Eight Years of "Extreme Sub-Standard Medical Care" at Kaiser Hospital and combined with Six Un-Needed Operations: Jenny Died a Horrible Death at the young age of "29 Years Old"...

***** THE FOLLOWING IS WHAT "YOU WILL LEARN FROM THIS EXCELLENT BOOK":

#1 The Red Flags that will tell You to change Doctors or Staff and get an Outside Second Opinion...

#2 To be able to Locate the "Many Great Doctors" that are available at Kaiser Hospital...

#3 To Understand the Fact that you have Zero-Support from some HMO's...

#4 I know that it is a "Known Fact" that there are some "Doctors and Staff" at "This Hospital" who Do Not care at all if you Die or Severely Damaged by their Major or Minor Medical Malpractice Mistakes and they will do nothing at all to save you - Rather than admit they made a Serious
Mistake and Save You - They will keep this a Complete Secret...

#5 Also Keep in Mind that there are "Many Great Doctors and Staff" at Kaiser who have Perfomed Miracles and saved patients who had almost no chance at all of Surviving and / or perfomed Incredibly Complicated Operations or Treatments with Fantastic Results...

#6 It is a "Known Fact" that some very "Unqualified Doctors or Staff" at Kaiser who will: Lie, Destroy and / or Lose Critical Medical Records, XRAYS, Radiology Reports, Dr's & Nurse's Notes, and any Info. that would Show or Prove they Commited a Major or Minor Malpractice Mistake that Killed or Severely Injured You...

#7 You may think so but you WILL NOT get any Support from "Some" Outside Medical "Watchdog" groups that you are told watches out for Sub-Standard Medical Care - This gives some people a Job to get Paid to Do Nothing and they are paid by you the tax-payer...

#8 The Exception to #7 is MEDICARE - "They do an EXCEPTIONAL JOB" at making sure you are OK... >>> BUT YOU HAVE TO LOOK OUT FOR THE RED FLAGS
YOURSELF BEFORE IT IS TO LATE...

#9 Before it is to late this HMO will have to Re-Evaluate their Game-Plan and put their Members & Patients in Priority Position #1... Income and Profits should be Priority Position #2... And #3 Should be to Weed-Out Any and All Unqualified Employees and Staff and hire Only Qualified and Professional Employee's who Desire to be the "Best of th Best" in the Kaiser Hospital System...

#10 If I had to make an Evaluation of the Kaiser Hospital HMO at this time after reading this excellent book and also being a past member of this this HMO - The Words that Clearly come to Mind Are:
***** THIS HAS TO BE THE MEDICAL SCAM of the CENTURY *****...

If Denzel Washington Touched Your Heart in The New Movie "John Q" Than read.....Jennifer's Story...DEATH BY HMO...A Real Life Tragedy.

This book is much much more than one which relays the horrible medical treatment that Jennifer received "While In The Hands of Kaiser" which resulted in her death.

This book is also about an organization that is more concerned about profit and image than the lives of any of it's patients. They will lie, they will trick, they will deny care in any manner possible until it is too late to save the patient if a patient is no longer profitable to them in the long run.

President Nixon when he was considering allowing the creation of the HMO Act was advised by Mr. John D. Ehrlichman who had received information on how Kaiser is run from the then CEO of Kaiser - Edgar Kaiser. Mr. Erlichman stated "...the less care they give them, the more money they make" and that just about sums up everything about this company.

Jennifer was tortured and abused by this corporation and like countless others she and her family found the inconceivable taking place right before their eyes. Medical personnel were not performing their prescribed duties in a professional nor competent manner. The medical staff with their conduct appeared to be a bunch of bumbling fools.

The Kaiser system is intentionally set up so that the patient and their family will choose to believe that a series of errors or incomptent events is taking place. These are really premeditated actions by a corporation that has put in place a system intentionlly fraught with systemic problems to delay treatment until the patient goes away one way or another.

For anyone that would question that statement how else can you explain how a doctor that goes to school for a decade to learn to be a physician and then passes a test to get a license could be so clueless over and over again.

It simply costs Kaiser less to settle an arbitration than it would to provide proper medical care in the long run.

Jennifer's family should be praised. They had the courage, the fortitude and the belief in themselves to put aside their pain and to focus their thoughts so that the public would have the opportunity to learn and avoid the never ending nightmare that they were all forced to endure by Kaiser and the for profit Permanente Medical Group.

This book is must reading for all people. If you must do business with Kaiser then at least be aware of what their business practices are so you can avoid the eternal suffering that Jennifers family must go through.

Jennifer's death was not in vain. She has lived on in this book to tell the story of what happened and to light the way for those that will listen.

This is a very disturbing indictment of modern health care. Dorothy Cancilla exhibits an extraordinary amount of restraint in recalling the preventable death of her daughter at the hands of inept doctors and an unforgiving system.

It's ironic that a organization whose charter is to maintain people's health can actually compromise their lives when the bottom line might be in jeopardy.

Kudos to Mrs. Cancilla for having the courage to face her demons by sharing them with others.

Dr. Smythies has written an outstanding book on the realities of how devastating frivolous lawsuits are on physicians. Any physician that has had to deal with the unfairness of a frivolous lawsuit will find the book therapeutic. I could not put this book down and finished it in two days staying up to 12:30 AM finishing it. Get this book ... you will love it. It would make a great movie. It is terrible when physicians get to the stage of their careers when they begin to look at their patients as potential plaintiffs instead of as fellow humans that are in need of the gifts that God gave them.

This book is not only a must for physicians but also for attorneys - on both sides of the bench. Patients with real problems come first in this novel. The fascinating story of a caring surgeon pulled into the vortex of senseless litigation should be a wake-up call for all involved in the future of American health care. The surprising conclusion is as uplifting as it is heartwarming!

Dr Smythies allows us a glimpse into the awesome resposibilities of the neurosurgeon, then magnifies the stress to the power "n" by involving his hero, Dr Montrose, in a malpractice action prosecuted by the outrageously unscrupulous Maxine Doggett. We witness the effect of this on Dr Montrose's life and practice, finally resolved by his plan to reform the malpractice system. This is not a book for the squeamish, nor those of a nervous disposition (far too scary for bedtime reading) and the satire has only a (brilliant)trace of humor, but it is a thought-provoking, must-read, shot in the arm for the medical and legal reader and the patients whom they serve. I can't wait for the movie.

The Hall Chair is an amazing story in many ways. Dr. Smythies' account of a physician's horrible experience with being wrongly accused of malpractice was such an eye opener into the medical-legal systems. It's amazing that states that do not have malpractice suit ceilings even have enough physicians to care for patients, and this novel helped me realize that changes need to be made through Federal legislation. I highly recommend this well written page-turner. It would not surprise me to someday see The Hall Chair made into a great movie.

I felt the book was well written, and kept me in suspense through the whole book!! As a member of the medical community, it hit home for me some of the medical issues that we deal with. It was also a very humorous with some of the side plots within the book.

A great read!!!

The fact that that this is not available in print says a lot. It is extremely enlightening regarding the intellectual ignorance of our medical profession. The concept of increasing the ability of the immune system to heal the body should be number one on every medical checklist for every patient. Jason Winter's herbal tea contains numerous blood purifiers that purport to work toward the same end; blood purification to increase the ability of the immune system to heal the bodily malfunction. This is a total change in disease paradigm which could possibly put a lot of our medical profession on welfare, in addition to saving individuals from the cut, burn and poison paradigm.

The reading and study of this book should be included in every College of Medicine study program, and should be available in all college libraries.

Of all the important investigation that Christopher Bird performed during his career, The Life and Trials of Gaston Naessens is probably his most important work. I first became aware of Bird's book in 1990, and I have bought numerous copies over the years to give them to cancer and AIDS patients. His book is not a monumental piece of scholarship, but it tells one more story about what happens to medical pioneers. I have taken Bird's work much further, and I write at length about Naessens and the professional lineage that he is a marvelous part of. The story of Naessens work is probably the most important one in medicine today.

I have read "The Cancer Cure That Worked" by Barry Lymes which is the story of Dr. Royal R. Rife's work. Barry was assisted by Dr. Rife's partner, John Crane of San Diego. I spent a couple of afternoons with Mr. Crane in 1990, before he pased away. Because Mr. Crane was acting as a co-author the book is very accurate as to the actual truth and history of the events. Dr. Rife did have a technology that worked and was verified by the Medical Staff at University of Southern California, L.A. Dr. Milburn Johnson, the then Chief of the USC Medical Staff and President of the Los Angeles Medical Association rented the Scripps Ranch at La Jolla, California, where they were successful in curing, within 70 days, 18 terminally ill cancer patients - 100% cure rate! All with no side effects! They were then able to build approximately 20 "Rife Ray Beam" machines and Drs. were using them very succesfully, in fact, too successfully, until the persecution of Rife and his associates quashed the project and technology for a while. THIS BOOK IS ONE EVERY HUMAN ON THE PLANET SHOULD READ BECAUSE THE TECNOLOGY CURED NOT ONLY THE CANCER BUT OTHER PROBLEMS THE PATIENTS HAD. ANOTHER BOOK THAT IS A MUST is "The Secret of Life" by Georges Lakovsky, who used the same technology, but a different design of a machine he called "The Multiwave Oscillator" He also experienced very simalar successes as Dr. Rife. Mr. Lakovsky's book contains "before" and "after" photos. He was from Russia and did his work in France. Mr. Lakovsky was merely murdered, when he came to New York, to squash his technology. However, both technologies are available via the underground and I have personally used Rife's and witnessed it to cure cancer, epstien barr, clogging of the heart arteries, to correct eyesight,toothache and other ailments. A similar technology is explained in Hulda Clark's book "Curing All Diseases" I'm sure Mr. Bird's Book about Mr. Naessens should also be on the "must" list. ALL OF THESE BOOKS ARE A MUST FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT CURING SO CALLED "TERMINAL DISEASES."

I bought this book years ago when it was published in Canada under the title of THE GALILEO OF THE MICROSCOPE. I have met the late Chris Bird several times. This recreation of the trial of Gaston Naessens for Murder One is absolutely fascinating and a great read. I have a video of what Naessens sees in the live blood under his darkfield microscope. I have lent it a number of times to people with terminal illness who eventually contacted Naessens and now are completely healthy. This is a very important book about a living legend.---Phil Ratte' 61 going on 36

This book shows how foolish people have been in their quest for cures from disease and perfect health. The sad part is that it's still going on all around us and people are absolutely serious about it. Except now it's called "alternative medicine" and the government is spending taxpayers' dollars on it. Hilarious indeed!

This is a hilarious, engaging and interesting coffee table book that would make a great gift for anyone in the medical profession, or an interest in health, a skeptic, or just someone with an offbeat sense of humor!

The long wait ends for a modern book on quack medical devices! The quality is everything one might hope for and more. Excellent quality, and highly entertaining.

It might be a good thing if there were no placebo effect, because then people could quickly tell if a drug or gadget worked. But since we aren't really good judges of that (it takes complicated experiments to tell if a drug is effective or not, for instance), all sorts of weird remedies have been tried and have been lucrative for their makers. These are the rightful prey of Bob McCoy, who a decade or so ago established the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices in Minneapolis. In _Quack! Tales of Medical Fraud from the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices_ (Santa Monica Press), McCoy shows some of the contents of his museum, in book form. It's a treat.

All sorts of nostrums and gadgets are described and illustrated here: soaps that wash away weight, breast developers, and various stimulants to the sexual appetite. These are funny, but also covered is the tragedy of radium and those poisoned by it. The gadgets are hilarious. Nose adjusters, height developers, even glasses that would reduce your weight. The book has abundant quotations from the advertising and pamphlets that came with the quackery, and is profusely illustrated. Americans spend a hundred million dollars a year on quack pills and gadgets that do nothing and may be harmful. So _Quack!_ might not just deliver the fun of laughing at human greed and credulity, but it may help the serious education of readers as well.

Quack!: Tales Of Medical Fraud From The Museum Of Questionable Medical Devices is an informative and fascinating compendium of quaint, preposterous, and occasionally horrifying medical devices foisted upon the public by calculating charlatans and misguided medical practitioners. Some of these purveyors held the public's rapt attention for a time (Albert Abrams, who believed that all that was needed from a patient was a drop of blood, a single hair, or a handwriting sample which gave off a "vibration" that could be used for diagnosis and treatment, was promoted by Upton Sinclair in "Pearson's" magazine), while others were simple snake-oil vintage conmen whose tactics were to "hit and run". Profusely illustrated with photographs of odd medical mechanism, period advertisements, and newspaper clippings of the day, Bob McCoy (curator of the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices) offers a full-spectrum, very highly recommended survey of American medical quackery from the Prostate Gland Warmer to the Recto Rotor, the Nose Straightener to the Wonder Electric Generator.

This is a wonderfully written book, and a truly compelling story, about the hero's journey of Janet Mitchell - who journeyed from medical malpractice and long-term concealment, to pain and unnecessary surgeries, to overcoming her fear of suing her doctors, to becoming a brave advocate and wise teacher on behalf of patient consumer rights.

Janet, a devout Christian who was acculturated in the tradition of not suing one's doctors, overcomes this resistance and finds her faith strengthened by believing in herself and by telling the truth, not only for her sake - but the sake of every American.

Her willingness to take a stand is a very worthwhile read - and I recommend her book of the same name to everyone.

Janet Mitchell has written a remarkable account of how she trusted God to bring about justice in her life--when the medical community and legal system seemed to team up against her. If you've suffered injustice--whatever that may be--read this book to gain courage to take a stand for what's right.

The author's amazing story is an example of how seriously adverse events in one's life can become a blessing to oneself and others. Janet weaves her times of doubt, pain, and despair through resilience, love, faith and courage to take on the medical establishment and make them accountable to their patients. Her life story and her continued actions to help others and be a voice for them are a priceless gift.

Every person who has ever had surgery or is going to have surgery should read this book. Janet exposes the "Good 'Ole Boys Club" code of silence when it comes to blatant medical malpractice. She also offers an excellant guide to on how to get the most out of your doctor's appointment. It's unfortunate that Janet had to endure such a travesty, but God has given not only a voice to share with others, but laws have been changed to prevent what happened to Janet from happening to other innocent victims.

This book is one of the biggest eye openers that I have ever read concerning Medical Malpractice Law and the American Judicial System today. Never before did I realize that so many patients suffer everyday from doctors committing an act of Medical Malpractice and yet only a small percentage of those victims actually get their case heard within their state courts. This is where Janet's book "Taking A Stand" is so powerful. Janet takes her own personal experience and couragously writes this book, to not only help others but also to show her faith and love in God. Due to circumstances in Janet's case and her will to follow God, California Laws have been changed today and many other victims will be encouraged to follow God's will and stand up for what is right.

"Lethal Medicine, The Epidemic Of Medical Malpractice In America" by Harvey F. Wachsman, M.D., J. D., Henry Holt & Company, Inc. NY, 1993

In engineering, there are various comments that masquerade under the name, "Murphy's Law". I think the original version stated, "If someone can put it on backwards, they will". However, all the different variations metamorphosed into something like:
"If something can go wrong, it will! And, at the worst possible time".
I was surprised that Murphy's Law also applies to the practice of medicine. Dr. Wachsman gives many different examples, and, I think, shows how arrogant some doctors can be.

As an Historian, I was particularly interested in pages 32-33, where Dr. Wachsman describes "Erb's Palsy". This palsy is a "...deformity of the arm, shoulder and hand area..." making "...the arm appear ...twisted and shriveled". The author goes on to say that Erb's Palsy is caused when "...the brachial plexus nerves in the neck and shoulder area are damaged during delivery ..." of the baby. One of the most famous victims of Erb's Palsy was Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II, who always attempted to hide his crippled left arm. Did this physical defect make Kaiser Wilhelm more aggressive than his cousins, the King of England and the Tsar of Russia? And help to cause World War I? Since Erb's Palsy can only be caused by damage in child birth, I wonder if this case of malpractice holds the record for being the most expensive in history?

Harvey Wachsman writes this book in order to serve and protect society as well as to inform readers of the dangers of receiving medical care in today's society. He organizes the text by topic in order to give readers an in depth look at the different areas pertaining to the United States' current medical malpractice problem. Waschman is certainly qualified to assert his opinions on the issue of negligent physicians in light of the fact that he served as both a chief of neurosurgery in a hospital and as an attorney, specializing in medical malpractice litigation. The book's strenghts lie in its real-life accounts and the author's well-researched advise. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon this book while researching a project in my Composition class at Oklahoma State University. The text proved to be extremely beneficial in my research. It also encouraged me to continue in my pursuit of medicine and perhaps, at some point, help redeem the practice of medicine.

Terse, well written, an absolute gem of a book. This book by Dr. Wachsman demonstrates why you absolutely need someone by your side 24 hours if you are in hospital. We need a web site to rate doctors. Maybe I will start one.

WOW not only did doctor harvey create a real page turner he also motivated me to excel in my future career of gynocolgy. his words touched my soul as he delved into such dangers as heart surgery, anal fissures, bone marrow transplats, vaginal discharge, rectal leakage, and dental malpractice. read this book for an adventure into the daily life of my hero, dr. harvey.

Harvey Wacshman portrays the beuty of childhood love-man realationships with poetic vigor. Each chapter permeates my soul like no other malpractivce lawyer. If reading about various feline habits tickles your fancy, then grab some hot coco and curl up along sid ethe hearth of a warm fire and grab this book!

During the extreme stress of preparing for a deposition, my lawyers prepared me for the facts, but not the technique. The examples and philosophy and clarity of writing in this book were INVALUABLE to me. I also found it to be helpfully in dealing with the tremendous emotional impact of the litigation.

A MUST for any physician, whethering facing a lawsuit now, or the inevitable lawsuit in the future.

When you are deposed for any matter it is like going back to the age of the Inquisition.Anything you say rigth or wrong can be use against you,or worse against an innocent bystander.If you go to a deposition(and you know when & where)without reading this book first.YOU ARE A FOOL AND YOU WILL BE HANG.

As an attorney who has represented clients on both sides of the proverbial isle, I plan to have my clients read this book before any deposition. Dr. Uribe sucessfully demisifies this process for the non-lawyer and makes it understandable to those who do not think like us. I believe this book gives several useful tools to help those not trained in the law navagate a difficult and stressful experience. Excellent work!

I was given this book as a gift. It is entertaining as well as informative. This is a must-read for anyone in the health care profession today.