Law Times

www.lawtimesnews.com Page 6 March 3, 2008 / Law TiMes "Lawyers get sued for their mistakes; doctors and nurses are luckier, they often bury theirs." I had no intention of writing a sequel to "Immortal? Not me!" (Bencher's Diary, Law Times, Jan. 14), even though I received many heartwarm- ing and supportive letters from readers of that column. we of- ten read about incivility in our profession, but there is a great deal of kindness and compassion that exists in it too. while riding the emotional roller-coaster of waiting for a procedure on my heart, which was finally done after being postponed three times (and, to be candid, each postponement has felt like a reprieve), I gave new meaning to putting one's blood, sweat, and tears into a file — especially blood. I was working on an estate matter and addressing an en- velope, when I noticed it had a dark red smudge. I chucked it into the garbage and took out another. It had a red smudge too. after discarding a number of envelopes, each with a red smudge more faint than its predecessor, I finally got an un- marked one. Magnanimously, I decided it was not worth the bother of returning the whole box of envelopes to the store. I then became so engrossed in the file that I did not notice I was putting red marks on the bottom of each page I turned. when I concentrate on something, I am not easily distracted. Last year at home I was immersed in a spir- itually uplifting book and, when I finally looked up, thought I was in heaven, ensconced on a cloud. a sweet potato in the mi- crowave had overcooked. The fire brigade paid me a visit to clear out all the smoke. This time I was engrossed in an estate file, not a book, and did not notice the red marks at the bottom of the correspondence. Sometimes dark, sometimes faint. when the marks began to look like fingerprints I finally got wise. I looked at my hands and saw moist, red fingertips. I also noticed a misshapen swell- ing on my thumb, where I had banged it earlier in the day. I remembered the warfarin I took to "thin" my blood in preparation for my heart proce- dure and the increased amounts I was prescribed. warfarin is dangerous — potentially toxic. My anticoagulation level is still monitored at least once a week and the drug dosage adjusted. Too much warfarin can result in internal bleeding and a visit to the great beyond. after each blood test, I used to get a call from my doctor's office, and, later, one from the anticoagulation clinic at the hos- pital, telling me my anticoagula- tion level and how much medi- cation to take. For two weeks I had not heard from the clinic, so I assumed my anticoagula- tion level had been properly stabilized. That assumption could have proved fatal. when I visited the emer- gency department and told the triage nurse I was on war- farin, showed her the swelling on my thumb, and said I was bleeding through my fingertips, she told me, "Mr. Gottlieb, you are not bleeding from your fin- gertips; you are bleeding in your mouth." I wiped my lips with a handkerchief. She was right. when I looked in a mirror and then rinsed out my mouth, I was bloody shocked. She whisked me into her ex- amining room, and before you could utter the barrister and solicitor's oath she had an intra- venous needle stuck in my arm for a transfusion or medication, withdrew blood from my other arm to have tested, and took my blood pressure which had under- standably reached new heights. I also got an ECG. when my blood test came back it revealed my anticoagula- tion level had scaled new heights too. I was fortunate the internal bleeding had occurred in my mouth and not my brain. I was injected intravenously with a bag of vitamin K to counteract the warfarin and sent home. I flopped into bed at 6 a.m. The moral of this cautionary tale was delivered by the emer- gency-room doctor, a friendly and forthright chap. "Some- times," he said, "patients fall through the cracks, even in a renowned hospital like this. You have to be proactive. Don't as- sume everything is hunky-dory when you don't hear anything from a nurse or physician. Make sure you get in touch with them. Persevere. Let them know you're a lawyer." That's not a bad idea. Surreptitiously put a little fear into their hearts. LT Gary Lloyd Gottlieb, a Toronto lawyer, is a Law Society of Upper Canada bencher and a Toronto sole practitioner. His e-mail ad- dress is glgqc@interlog.com I n his report, entitled A Test of Wills, this province's watchdog rightly sank his teeth into Legal aid Ontario for the "not our job" mentality that led to the squandering of more than $1 million from the public purse to pay for the defence of a former traffic cop turned mistress-killer. a killer, incidentally who actually had the means to pay for his own dream team, but offensively shed his considerable assets to family members so he could belly up to the taxpayer's trough. Ontario Ombudsman andré Marin didn't sugar coat it — i.e. words like "cata- strophic," "fiasco," "mess," and "obscene" are a few of the more colorful within his scathing report that puts Klieg lights on the flagrant failings of LaO. The ombudsman's probe began last fall in the wake of revelations about the cost of defending Richard wills that emerged after his conviction of first-degree murder in the 2002 slaying of his lover Linda Mariani. In addition to actually playing possum-poor to get public bucks — received via a judge's funding order requiring the Ministry of the attorney General to pay and Legal aid to monitor costs — wills enlisted seven law- yers in his freedom quest and racked up a staggering $1.2 million tab. The original cost estimate for the case: $50,000. "This is a story about waste," says Marin in his opening salvo. This was a "perfect storm of mischief, misjudgment and per- haps even madness.'' and just because the money came through the ministry, it was LaO's job to keep tabs on the mounting costs, and they didn't, he said. Instead, the "rubber stamp" came out creating a "no check/blank cheque" policy, Marin noted. In fact, placing blame squarely on Legal aid, Marin goes so far as to say he can "find no fault" in the ministry's failure to catch on as it "trusted" the agency to do the kind of re- view it always does. Makes sense from here. There is some good news: Marin said LaO has already implemented some re- forms and has taken it on the chin. Even apologized. and, according to the ministry they too have already taken action on some of the ombudsman's recommendations. For instance a new "protocol" between the ministry and legal aid was launched late last year after the public outcry. Though Marin told Law Times it's inadequate. "we're building on the measures we've already put in place by acting quickly on the ombudsman's recommendations," said attorney General Chris Bentley. "we have taken the necessary steps to ensure public funds are spent effectively." among Marin's recommendations was to get the wills bills analyzed. In a press release, the ministry responded that it's asking a judge to review to determine if some of the public monies should be re- turned, and if parts of the bills are found not justified "they could order counsel to reimburse the ministry." Marin also called on the province to pass legislation to deal with the problems. "Un- less there's legislative change, the system still shows that it's vulnerable to being hacked," Marin told reporter Robert Todd. Meanwhile it was revealed the govern- ment is suing wills and his family for $1.2 in damages, alleging "unjust enrichment." "It was a shameful episode that never should have happened and should never be repeated," said Marin. "But make no mistake — it could happen again if nothing is done." ah, let's not forget, wills is appealing his conviction. and he wants legal aid. — Gretchen Drummie Editorial Obiter Editorial Obiter A medical misadventure COMMENT Law Times is printed on newsprint containing 25-30 per cent post-consumer recycled materials. Please recycle this newspaper. Publications Mail Agreement Number 40762529 • ISSN 0847-5083 Law Times is published 40 times a year by Law Times Inc. 240 Edward St., Aurora, Ont. 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Morrison Law Times Group Publisher . . . . . . . . . Karen Lorimer Associate Publisher . . . . . . . . . Gail J. Cohen Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gretchen Drummie Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . .Helen Burnett Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Todd Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matt LaForge CaseLaw Editor . . . . . . . . . .Jennifer Wright Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . Alicia Adamson Production Co-ordinator . . . . . Mary Hatch Electronic Production Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Derek Welford Advertising Sales . . . . . . . . Kimberlee Pascoe Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Abbot Sales Co-ordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sandy Shutt ©Law Times Inc. 2008 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or stored in a retrieval system without written per- mission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Law Times Inc. disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. Bencher's Diary By Gary Lloyd Gottlieb 'A test of Wills' alright

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