A well-known defense doctor said something outrageous in his deposition recently.
This doctor earns about $800k annually just from expert work. He charges $1,200 an hour to review records. He gives about 50 plus depositons a year as an expert.
In his trial deposition on Friday in a car wreck case, the expert made this absurd claim: disc bulges can’t be caused by trauma like a car wreck or even made worse by a wreck. They’re all age-related. But somehow, disc herniations can be caused by a wreck.
However, this doctor’s own practice provides a surgery guide to patients available on its website that says the exact opposite.
This is a patient guide the doctor admits that he and the other group’s doctors reviewed and approved before making it available to patients:
- To patients, they say their disc bulge can be the result of trauma (even minor trauma!).
- To plaintiffs who are trying to get compensation for a life-changing injury, they say the injury can never be caused by trauma.
The double standard that applies to defense doctors is astounding and is emblematic of a larger double standard that allows powerful interests to get away with saying or doing whatever in court, while regular people (or anyone who dares help a person) could get sanctioned for the same thing.
Insurance companies are quick to accuse doctors who provide treatment to plaintiffs of being unethical. But those same insurance companies will use the same defense doctors over and over again, knowing they will say anything to try to defeat the plaintiffs’ claims.
Their outrage isn’t about doing what is right and trying to find the truth. It’s about protecting their money.
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