Second Mason malpractice case challenges MPLA | Malpractice World Wide Warning

Second Mason malpractice case challenges MPLA
May 22, 2007

Source: The Record
POINT PLEASANT – Following the lead of a Mason County physician, an Ohio man has brought a malpractice suit against a former Point Pleasant doctor, now living and working in Illinois, without filing a certificate of merit.

On Dec. 12, Ralph A. Barcus, of Gallipolis, Ohio, filed suit against Dr. Jack Levine. In his suit, Barcus, who is represented by Michael A. Eachus, of the Gallipolis law office of Eachus and Finley, named Pleasant Valley Hospital as a co-defendant. In his suit, Barcus, 65, alleges both committed malpractice when Levine in 2001 failed to remove the entire catheter he inserted into Barcus’ chest two years earlier.

Though he provided both defendants the requisite 30-day notice of a pending lawsuit, Eachus maintains that the malpractice was so obvious that a certificate of merit from a qualified physician in Levine’s field is not necessary. Eachus position is similar to one taken by Dr. Danny R. Westmoreland in his appeal to the state Supreme Court claiming that a 2003 law designed to curb malpractice cases actually hamstrings legitimate ones. [more]

dr danny westmoreland wrote on November 24, 2009 at 5:16 am

The MPLA is a monster that protects and hurts people at the same time. There should be nothing that stands in the way of your day in court to correct a wrong, but there a so many bad lawyers out therein WV that the legislature felt they had to say”we don’t trust you to sue on merits so we are going to make you get another doctor of the same specialty to sigh a certificate since we don’t trust you. The bad thing I have found is the legislature is right. WV Universaity law grasds seem to have a cxlick where they protect each other to the point of actually lying for each other. If they would police themselves(not happening) this would not be an issue.

dr danny westmoreland wrote on December 15, 2009 at 6:42 pm

WV has had to enact the law which is the legislature stating(exactly)we do not trust WV lawyers to be honest enough to only bring cases with merit to claim. They are required to get an expert doctor to say the lawyer is being honest this time. Doesn’t anybodsy see the problem with this. First start punishing bad lawyers, like letting them forge signatures and stealing checks. If the government wants to get down the cost of medical care then cut out all the administrative pay to the redundant C?O’s. One is all that is needed and boards are simply kickbacks. Outlaw them for pay. Next remove insurance from anti-trust to level the playing field, but public be aware, the CEO and the boards are most likely lawyers, see the pattern. Un-needed tests are not the biggest problem,dirty lawyers with their dirty boards and their bonus and above the law by no anti-trust. Ccheck to seee if your representative supports removing anti-trust and if they don’t vote them out, they are dirty. This is from some person who has seen the entire playing field, people(voters) we can fix this by just asking the antitrust question and listen to the squirm.

sylvia crihfield whitlow wrote on March 19, 2010 at 4:29 am

This is of interest to me as I lost my father 10 yrs ago to a series of mistakes made at a West Virginia hospital. We went to a law firm in Ohio and still was not able to have our day in court.We have always felt that the lawyers were bought off by the hospital.