4 ms·

This family strikes me as litigious as hell. if they feel wronged that deeply, and they have the deep pockets that are essential to suing everyone in sight and

This family strikes me as litigious as hell. if they feel wronged that deeply, and they have the deep pockets that are essential to suing everyone in sight and running a media campaign (of which we are now all a part), then could they find it in their hearts to not sue the person who physically did all he could to help their dead relative? Why sue the doctor? Because their lawyers said they had a chance at extracting money. Make no mistake; this is about money and pride. People get filmed dying nearly every day, and much of that death reel finds its way to the Public. These people have the means and, though this is a complete guess on my part, the experience to wage a lawsuit battle with a Hospital, a Production Company, and a Doctor. I am very familiar with the heartlessness required to produce TV, especially reality TV. I hate it every time some dipshit redneck violates a suspect's rights on COPS by being vague, or someone having a horrible day gets mocked by the by-standers as their crappy car gets towed. We are a culture that indulges in the misery of others. Just because a few rich people tasted what everyone from low income areas eat for breakfast does not seem to me a good reason to flip the table and hunt down camera people.

maxlybbert 12y ago
I actually wanted to make an argument from the hospital's side of things: some of arguments the hospital's making sound heartless, but there's a very good chance that the hospital's insurance company came up with those arguments (well, the insurance company's lawyers). It's hard to imagine a system more effective at upsetting people than the US legal system. There's a good chance that the family brought the doctor into the suit to get money from his insurance company. But they may not have had much choice. In the US, the court will spend a lot of time trying to decide if the right people were sued, and if people should be dropped or others added. I don't see how the doctor would have avoided getting sucked into the suit. The lawyers will spend a lot of time negotiating behind the scenes. The family will try to get the judge to declare any liability "joint and several" which would allow the family to collect the full judgment (assuming there is one) from any of the parties, who then can work out the details among themselves. The system encourages, and in some cases requires, this kind of manuevering. So don't assume the people involved are actually this weird, mean or heartless.
- justin66 12y ago
  The doctor was complicit in doing something disgusting and, one hopes, illegal. Why wouldn't you name him in a lawsuit? classicsnoot mentions that the doctor "physically did everything he could to help their dead relative" but that very obviously didn't include helping to preserve his patient's dignity by keeping a camera crew away from him. What a nightmare. I'm still slightly in awe that a hospital would put their patients through this. That TV people would put someone through it is, of course, not shocking at all...
  - maxlybbert 12y ago
    Until I get further information, I will assume the doctor wasn't actively involved in the show's production. I'll assume that the hospital announced one or more camera crews would be in the emergency room, and the doctor assumed the people editing the footage knew the relevant laws and would act professionally. Even so, I don't see any way for the doctor to avoid being sued. But I really doubt he had much influence on the show.
    - whyenot 12y ago
      The doctor was wearing a mic. I think it would be very hard to argue he wasn't involved in the production. He also has at least a moral obligation to protect the privacy of his patients. It's a shame these things end in lawsuits, but he does deserve some kind of punishment or reprimand. Maybe suspend his license for a few months.
      - maxlybbert 12y ago
        I have never been involved in a reality TV show (and my job isn't exciting enough for the TV crews to come knocking) so I have to only guess how it works. But I would expect that wearing a microphone doesn't give the doctor much input on which segments to use, and that the doctor wouldn't have been involved in getting permissions from the patients and families. It's obvious in this case that the show wasn't able to get permission from the family (and, given that the family was surprised; the show wasn't able to contact the family), so they blurred the guy's face and thought that made him unidentifiable. I don't believe the doctor had any influence on that decision.

maxlybbert 12y ago

I actually wanted to make an argument from the hospital's side of things: some of arguments the hospital's making sound heartless, but there's a very good chance that the hospital's insurance company came up with those arguments (well, the insurance company's lawyers). It's hard to imagine a system more effective at upsetting people than the US legal system. There's a good chance that the family brought the doctor into the suit to get money from his insurance company. But they may not have had much choice. In the US, the court will spend a lot of time trying to decide if the right people were sued, and if people should be dropped or others added. I don't see how the doctor would have avoided getting sucked into the suit. The lawyers will spend a lot of time negotiating behind the scenes. The family will try to get the judge to declare any liability "joint and several" which would allow the family to collect the full judgment (assuming there is one) from any of the parties, who then can work out the details among themselves. The system encourages, and in some cases requires, this kind of manuevering. So don't assume the people involved are actually this weird, mean or heartless.

justin66 12y ago
The doctor was complicit in doing something disgusting and, one hopes, illegal. Why wouldn't you name him in a lawsuit? classicsnoot mentions that the doctor "physically did everything he could to help their dead relative" but that very obviously didn't include helping to preserve his patient's dignity by keeping a camera crew away from him. What a nightmare. I'm still slightly in awe that a hospital would put their patients through this. That TV people would put someone through it is, of course, not shocking at all...
- maxlybbert 12y ago
  Until I get further information, I will assume the doctor wasn't actively involved in the show's production. I'll assume that the hospital announced one or more camera crews would be in the emergency room, and the doctor assumed the people editing the footage knew the relevant laws and would act professionally. Even so, I don't see any way for the doctor to avoid being sued. But I really doubt he had much influence on the show.
  - whyenot 12y ago
    The doctor was wearing a mic. I think it would be very hard to argue he wasn't involved in the production. He also has at least a moral obligation to protect the privacy of his patients. It's a shame these things end in lawsuits, but he does deserve some kind of punishment or reprimand. Maybe suspend his license for a few months.
    - maxlybbert 12y ago
      I have never been involved in a reality TV show (and my job isn't exciting enough for the TV crews to come knocking) so I have to only guess how it works. But I would expect that wearing a microphone doesn't give the doctor much input on which segments to use, and that the doctor wouldn't have been involved in getting permissions from the patients and families. It's obvious in this case that the show wasn't able to get permission from the family (and, given that the family was surprised; the show wasn't able to contact the family), so they blurred the guy's face and thought that made him unidentifiable. I don't believe the doctor had any influence on that decision.