The Real International Virus

Not that I was worried about the bird flu anyways, but another story I saw today showed me what the true international viral infection is: Trial Lawyers armed with bogus cases. In Australia, lawyers are currently arguing a case before the High Court to get a 24-year-old disabled woman compensation for 'lifelong suffering'. Yes, that's right, a 24 year old female, who was born blind and deaf with rubella is suing, with the help of her mother, the doctor who misdiagnosed the rubella in her Mother's first trimester 25 years ago. The woman, Alexia Harrington, is suing saying that her Mother, Olga, would have aborted her had she known that the child was going to be retarded. And as one final note, the family says that the trial is not about money, but that it is about getting compensation for a "rubella afflicted life".

Okay, there are, oh so many ways in which this case has problems, but I will try to deal mainly with one. However, I will say it is quite odd that a mother is helping her 24-year-old daughter sue for not being aborted. It must be an Australian form of a Mother-Daughter relationship too complex for a simple American like me to understand. Of course, this brings up the whole issue of abortion itself, but that requires it own full post at a later date.

First of all, why in the world did these people wait for 24 YEARS to do this. Surely the mother knew from birthday number one that her baby was disabled and was going to require intensive, costly care. If not, then perhaps the mother should be checked for some form of 'Reality Comprehension' Syndrome. Unfourtunately, I think it is much more likely that this mother, and her daughter, suffer from the 'Trial Lawyer sees a potentially good money-making case' Syndrome. It is dispicable that these lawyers are using this mother and her handicapped daughter for some sort of publicity, money-making stunt.

Oh, and please don't say that the lawyers are doing it for the poor, rubella-struck woman's good. If she was truly so unhappy with her life that she wishes to have never been born, there are plenty of ways to solve that; a shotgun or small handgun might provide a quick and easy solution. Secondly, if this is for the money, why does the Doctor have to pay off hundreds of thousands (or maybe millions) in damages? Blaming your local Obstetrician for an unfourtunate act of God, doesn't do you much good. And to be honest, his mistaken diagnosis doesn't merit the amount of money the case will be for, especially when you consider that the actual woman of the prosecution will only get maybe half of the money, and her lawyer the rest.

Furthurmore, the question of whether or not a child may be disabled isn't quite black and white. Many times a Doctor will indicate to the parents that there is a high probability of a child being physically or mentally retarded, and the child turns out just fine. The point being, a diagnosis of retardation made in the first trimester of pregnancy is hardly as concrete as, say, the Laws of Gravity, making it extremely difficult to fault the Doctor for 24 years of 'pain and suffering'. The simple fact is that disability is something that comes at the fault of no, one, particular human being, so it is quite childish of this family to blame all this on the Doctor.

What is really sad about this case is that it so closely resembles malpractice cases here in the US. Trial Lawyers here seem unable to comprehend that, 99% of the time a doctor has as much to do with the disabilities of a child as they do with the eye color of the child. They are unable to understand that Down's Syndrome, the subject of more than a few cases here in the U.S.A, is actually a genetic disorder, or that that rubella is a microscopic virus, not an full-grown, human Obstetrician.

Which is why it's time for the Trial Lawyers of the world to stop spreading their 'virus' around the world, because Obstetricians really need a break. They would prefer to spend their week in the ER, not the courtroom. And for the sake of women all over the world, let's hope that they stay in buisness instead of retiring from rising malpractice insurance premiums. Better yet, let's hope we find a vaccine for the highly contagious 'bogus lawsuit' virus.