Here's a case likely to be making the rounds in hospitals over the weekend, courtesy of the National Medical Foundation for Asset Protection, a lobbying group in favor of tighter restrictions on malpractice suits. Dr. Philip Ticktin was sued by the family of a patient who died from a relatively rare condition: water intoxification. The man apparently drank about three gallons of water quickly in an effort to beat a drug test. Ticktin was responsible for administering the test. Five years later, after an intense legal battle, Ticktin committed suicide. "Hopefully my death will help to shed light on the problem of dishonest expert witnesses and judges unwilling to scrutinize cases more carefully and toss the ridiculous ones," he wrote in his suicide note. A copy of the doctor's suicide note is on the NMFA website.
For more on the case:
- see this story (pdf)