Plaintiff in 'frivolous lawsuit' disputes being characterized that way by Fallin

Source: Tulsa World, Okla.迷你倉價錢Aug. 25--In her call for a special legislative session, Mary Fallin included a lawsuit against a Tulsa psychiatrist in a larger example of why state lawmakers must convene to revive laws protecting doctors against "frivolous lawsuits."The lawsuit was one of a dozen cases Fallin said has been reopened since the state Supreme Court threw out a package of tort reform laws in June.After a request by the Tulsa World, Fallin's office provided the list of lawsuits reopened since the ruling. A negligence suit filed in Tulsa District Court against the psychiatrist, David Crass, was among those.Far from protecting that psychiatrist from frivolous suits, the state was prosecuting Crass five years ago after several of his patients died, including a man whose family later filed the suit, records show. In 2009, the state Attorney General's Office charged Crass with drug distribution and Medicaid fraud.It was the same year lawmakers passed the tort reform laws -- signed by then-Gov. Brad Henry -- that Fallin and legislative leaders now seek to restore.In two June rulings, the state Supreme Court said the laws represent a financial barrier to citizens' access to courts, apply only to a "special class" of people and violate the state constitution's single subject rule.In an Aug. 12 news release, Fallin states: "In the weeks since the court ruled our laws unconstitutional, at least a dozen lawsuits have been reopened against hospitals, doctors and other employers. As lawmakers, we need to act now to protect our businesses and our medical community from frivolous lawsuits and skyrocketing legal costs."Vicky Moore said she can't understand why the Governor's Office would include a lawsuit over her son's death on its list of cases Fallin cited as a reason for the special session. Moore of Bristow sued Crass in 2010, alleging her son, Lance Mixon, died from an accidental overdose after Crass prescribed a lethal mix of medications."I want justice to be done," Moore said, wiping her eyes. "What about the people that trust the doctors and go in there for real reasons and end up ... " she said, her voice trailing off.Alex Weintz, a spokesman for Fallin, said the governor could not comment on the case or others on the list provided by her office."I'm not sure the governor has seen all of those cases, and I can't comment on any specific cases," Weintz said.Fallin believes restoring the 2009 lawsuit reform measure cannot wait until the regular legislative session begins in February, he said. Lawmakers will return to the Capitol for the special session on Sept. 3."We think that doctors and hospitals and the medical profession are particularly vulnerable to these kinds of lawsuits," Weintz said.About six months after Mixon's 2008 death, the state Attorney General's Office charged Crass with 34 counts of distribution of controlled dangerous drugs and one count of Medicaid fraud. An affidavit states Crass prescribed Lortab, Xanax, Oxycodone and other drugs to patients without medical need after spending only a few minutes with them.Crass was convicted in a 2011 jury trial in Tulsa County District Court of 23 counts of drug distribution and one count of Medicaid fraud and fined $700,000.The state revoked Crass' medical license last year, citing the conviction and patient deaths.Medical examiner's records list Crass as the doctor for five people who died from apparent accidental overdoses in the Tulsa area in 2007 and 2008, including Mixon.Crass' attorney, Craig Buchan, said Crass denies the claims in Moore's lawsuit."Clearly, at this point we've denied those allegations and intend to defend Dr. Crass," Buchan said.Another lawsuit on the list of reopened cases was filed by the family of Jimmy Ballard, 43. Ballard was found dead in his Creek County home in 2005, days after being prescribed a fentanyl patch for pain.Ballard died from "fentanyl toxicity," an autopsy found. Records show there were multiple deaths in Oklahoma the same year also listing fentanyl toxicity as the cause of death.Five months before Ballard's death, the FDA issued a safety warning that it was investigating patient deaths related to the patch. The patches have since been recalled by several d迷你倉ug companies, including a unit of the company named in Ballard's lawsuit. Donald Smolen II, an attorney representing Moore and Ballard's relatives, said new laws aren't needed to protect doctors or drug companies.Smolen also represents a woman who alleges she was burned during a laser procedure at a Tulsa skin clinic. Photos show scarred skin covering part of the woman's face, neck and chest.The woman's lawsuit and others on the list of cases Fallin's office provided were thrown out because they lacked an expert's affidavit stating the plaintiffs had good cause to file suit.The Supreme Court said such affidavits -- required by the tort reform law -- cost plaintiffs up to $5,000 and were a financial barrier to court access."They're really attacking the citizens of the state, trying to make it extremely difficult or impossible to file a lawsuit," Smolen said.Jack Beller, a physician and chairman of the Physicians Liability Insurance Co. board, said lawsuits drive up the cost of health care and discourage doctors from working in Oklahoma.Beller said that, historically, 70 percent of lawsuits against medical providers are dismissed without any payment made. The number shows that most of the suits "never should have been filed in the first place," he said.Tulsa attorney John Thetford filed one of the lawsuits reopened after the tort reform law was struck down. In that case, a disabled woman sued Choctaw Memorial Hospital and Lane Frost Rehabilitation Center after developing bed sores during treatment at the Hugo facility.Thetford said the tort reform laws created "an extraordinary expense and burden on these injured people that we represent to get access to the courts."In her lawsuit, Moore claims her son died from an accidental overdose after Crass prescribed him a lethal dose of pain medication following a severe back injury on his job as a forklift driver. Lance Mixon was 38 when he died and was engaged to be married, Moore said.Raised in Idabel, Mixon picked up a guitar at 16 and rarely put it down after, his mother said.He pursued his dream of being a musician and played in rock bands with his younger sister, Jade. Mixon started writing a screenplay and died sitting at his coffee table writing a scene.Mixon liked to give his friends nicknames, and they continue to keep up a memorial Facebook page in his honor, his sister said.Moore remains proud of her son."I'm not bragging because he was my son. He had a very magnetic personality," Moore said. "I just want to know that he mattered and that he meant something."World Staff Writer Curtis Killman contributed to this story.Oklahoma malpractice suitsWhile Oklahoma's efforts to protect medical providers from lawsuits have paid off, the actual amount of malpractice by doctors and others has apparently increased, records show.The state ranks near the bottom nationally in the number of malpractice payouts by licensed health-care providers, according to a Tulsa World analysis of data from the National Practitioners Databank.From 2002 through 2012, all Oklahoma licensed health-care providers combined reported fewer than 2,000 malpractice payouts -- all payments made as a result of negligence lawsuits -- to the national databank.The state ranked below 39 others in the number of malpractice payouts per licensed health-care provider, the World's analysis shows.The data also show the number of malpractice payouts spiked in 2009, the year tort reform was passed, and decreased overall from 2002 through 2012.Meanwhile, the number of "adverse actions" against Oklahoma's licensed health professionals -- actions taken by medical boards or employers -- grew by nearly 40 percent during that period.COMING MONDAYA Tulsa World analysis shows doctors, dentists, medical PACs and other medical interests contributed more than $700,000 to Gov. Mary Fallin's 2010 and 2014 campaigns. While those contributors stand to gain from her call to revive lawsuit reform laws, Fallin's office says their dollars don't impact policy decisions.Ziva Branstetter 918-581-8306ziva.branstetter@tulsaworld.comCopyright: ___ (c)2013 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) Visit Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) at .tulsaworld.com Distributed by MCT Information Services新蒲崗迷你倉