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Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Law - More on: Louisville's "Jewish Hospital sues lawyers who unsuccessfully sued it"
Updating the Louisville Courier Journal story from May 16th, Andrew Wolfson reports today:
Two lawyers say their unsuccessful lawsuits against Jewish Hospital were justified by hundreds of reports of unsanitary conditions from patients, employees, government regulators and the hospital itself.Attorneys Joseph White and Michael O'Connell had alleged that unclean conditions caused infections resulting in illnesses and death.
Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's Healthcare Inc. sued the lawyers May 1, alleging that they had tarnished its reputation in comments to news organizations and abused the legal process by trying to force settlements through adverse publicity. * * *
White and O'Connell filed 96 lawsuits, of which 84 have been dismissed, most of them after the lawyers said they couldn't afford to continue. Two suits were dismissed by judges on their merits.
The hospital's suit also claims the lawyers "intentionally misrepresented and concealed material facts" and that none of the lawyers' expert witnesses could prove the hospital caused the infections." In an unusually elaborate answer filed in Jefferson Circuit Court, White pointed to internal hospital reports, which mention problems with "improper disposal of hazardous waste" and "work surfaces left contaminated with visible blood and body fluids."
He also cited the deposition testimony of a hospital cleaning supervisor who said rooms often weren't cleaned properly because new patients had to be rushed into them. * * *
O'Connell, a former circuit judge who joined the cases after most of the suits were filed, moved on Friday to dismiss the hospital's suit in part based on his limited role. * * *
O'Connell's motion likened Jewish Hospital's suit to retaliatory claims used by polluters to punish lawyers fighting for justice for neighbors afflicted by toxic waste.
"Our system of jurisprudence has evolved to where it protects lawyers who seek to make a difference," the motion says. "Kentucky's court system favors judicial access and disfavors maneuvers aimed at stifling potentially meritorious claims."
Weiss said in an interview that White and O'Connell don't have to prove that the allegations in their suit were true -- that the unsanitary conditions caused their clients' injuries -- but instead only that they had a good-faith belief that the connection could be proved.
"The purpose of a lawsuit is to find out what happened," [White's lawyer, Gary] Weiss said. "If a lawyer had to prove a suit before it was filed, there would be no reason to file it."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 22, 2007 06:54 AM
Posted to General Law Related