Jim Seals
A retired Circuit Court Judge in Fort Myers, Florida, Judge Seals believes in the power of writing: “I wrote detailed judgments, orders and rulings, fully explaining my thoughts and reasoning on my cases in the best judicial prose I could muster. I firmly believe my in-depth writing influenced lawyers on the losing side to discourage their clients from appealing my rulings, thus saving a lot of people time and money.”
Judge Seals’ blog focuses on memorable court cases, plus essays on law-related matters and opinion pieces and essays on politics, religion and today’s turbulent culture.
From Judge Seals’ Blog
It’s the third day of a medical malpractice trial – typically known as the litigation equivalent of war – and so far, things aren’t going well for the plaintiff-patient. After two days of making no headway, the plaintiff’s attorney knows that victory is unquestionably slipping away.
It’s now clear to me that this case is what I call a “line-in-the-sand” case. Let me briefly explain. Many patients often undergo medical treatment and, even though the doctor was not negligent, the results did not turn out as hoped for or expected. They may convince themselves that the doctor committed malpractice, and seek legal counsel. Those patients who consult with experienced, ethical plaintiff lawyers, and become convinced they have no case, will luckily avoid the ordeal of litigation. However, there happens to be a certain class of lawyers who, working with certain doctors of dubious qualifications, will file med-mal lawsuits despite there being little or no evidence that the doctor actually did something wrong. Their goal is to reach a quick settlement in the expectation that the doctor’s insurance company will have no appetite to take the case through a long, expensive trial. However, every once in a while, a med-mal insurance carrier and the accused doctor will cry “enough,” draw a line in the sand, and offer nothing. This is one of those cases, and the defense has the perfect lawyer for the occasion, a feisty Cuban from Miami named Benny.